A small-scale air-cathode microbial fuel cell for on-line monitoring of water quality

At saturating acetate concentrations (COD>164 ppm), the miniature SCMFC could rapidly detect the presence of cadmium in water with high sensitivity (0.2 μg l−1 cm−2) and a lower detection limit of only 1 μg l−1. The biosensor dynamic range was 1-25 μg l−1. Within this range of concentrations, cadmium affected only temporarily the electroactive biofilm at the anode. When the SCMFCs were again fed with fresh wastewater and no pollutant, the initial steady-state current was recovered within 12 min.