Staged Microbial Fuel Cells with Periodic Connection of External Resistance

Reactor staging is widely used in wastewater treatment where treatment norms are achieved by connecting two or more reactors in series. The first reactor operates at high carbon source loads and the last reactor performs the final polishing. Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are bioelectrochemical devices designed for direct electricity production from organic matter. Periodic connection of the MFC external electrical resistance was demonstrated to increase performance. An engineering tool to understand this periodic mode of operation is developed. Effluent quality control can be ensured by developing control strategies able to reject variability in the influent concentration while tracking a desired set-point.