Removal of algae from biological cultures: a challenge for electrocoagulation?

BACKGROUND In the search for novel technologies for the treatment of urban wastewater, combined anaerobic–algae membrane bioreactors have become a very interesting choice. Recovery of algae produced in these reactors has become the key point to obtain a good economic efficiency with this technology. In this work, electrocoagulation is studied as an alternative for the coarse removal of algae from a biological culture. RESULTS Results demonstrate that the electrochemical technology is a suitable technology for this purpose allowing the removal of more than 90% of the algae without modifying significantly the pH and with an operating cost below 0.04 € m−3. The same general trends are observed…

Renewable energies driven electrochemical wastewater/soil decontamination technologies: A critical review of fundamental concepts and applications

Abstract Electrochemical wastewater and soil treatments are exciting set of technologies that has been well-studied over the recent years as one of the most-effective remediation techniques for the removal of hazardous pollutants from liquids effluents and soil. The main requirement of these technologies is electricity and their sustainability can be largely improved if they are powered by renewable energy sources. Likewise, this green energy powering can help to apply these technologies in remote areas, such as rural communities in developing countries, where no electricity grid is available. This review presents a comprehensive discussion on fundamental concepts and applications of renewa…

Influence of the methodology of inoculation in the performance of air-breathing microbial fuel cells

In this work, four air-breathing microbial fuel cells (AB-MFC) were operated for 1 month in order to determine if the methodology of inoculation affects the steady-state performance of this type of MFCs. For this purpose, anaerobic and aerobic sludge were fed to two identical AB-MFCs without any external carbon source into a tight sealed environment during the first three days of start-up. For comparison purposes, other two AB-MFCs were operated mixing the initial sludge and an amount of sodium acetate as substrate. Results point out that the inoculation procedure does not affect the steady-state treatment capacity of the cells but it affects very seriously the production of electricity. On…

Effect of the air pressure on electro-Fenton process

Electro-Fenton process is considered a very promising tool for the treatment of waste waters contaminated by organic pollutants refractant or toxic for microorganisms used in biological processes [1-6]. In these processes H2O2 is continuously supplied to an acidic aqueous solution contained in an electrolytic cell from the two-electron reduction of oxygen gas, directly injected as pure gas or bubbled air. Due to the poor solubility of O2 in aqueous solutions, two dimensional cheap graphite or carbon felt electrodes give quite slow generation of H2O2, thus resulting in a slow abatement of organics. In this context, we report here a series of studies [7-9] on the effect of air pressure on the…

On the staking of miniaturized air-breathing microbial fuel cells

Abstract This work focuses on the scale-up of the MFCs by miniaturization and multiplication strategy. Performances of five stacks containing 1, 2, 5, 8 and 16 MFCs were compared. Each stack was evaluated under individual, parallel and series electrical connection as well as for cascade or individual hydraulic connection. Cascade feeding mode with a tank per stack favours the COD removal when the number of MFCs in the stack increases. However, despite operating without COD limitations, the energy production was disadvantaged. By changing the feeding system of a tank per stack into an individual tank per MFC, the performance of the whole stack enhances considerably. Stacking in series can in…

Isobaric vapor-liquid equilibria for binary and ternary systems composed of water, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol at 100 kPa

Isobaric vapor−liquid equilibria data were obtained for the 2-propanol + 1-propanol binary system and the water + 1-propanol + 2-propanol ternary system at 100 kPa. The data were found to be thermodynamically consistent according to the Van Ness−Byer−Gibbs method for the binary system and according to the McDermott−Ellis method for the ternary one. The binary system is well represented by assuming ideal behavior. The binary interaction parameters obtained from this and our previous work are used to predict the vapor−liquid equilibrium for the ternary system using the UNIQUAC, NRTL, and Wilson models. The ternary system is well predicted from binary data.

Use of neurofuzzy networks to improve wastewater flow-rate forecasting

A neurofuzzy wastewater flow-rate forecasting model (NFWFFM) has been developed and tested with actual data measured at the input of two wastewater treatment facilities which treat the wastewater corresponding to 150,000 and 1,250,000p.e., respectively. Good agreements between forecasted and actual flow-rates were obtained. The artificial intelligence algorithm uses only two input variables (day of the week and average daily flow-rate of day before) and one output variable (predicted average daily flow-rate). Using three months data for training the network, a long-term forecast (one month) is made with average errors below 10%. Results were compared with those obtained by applying the Cens…

Optimization of the performance of an air-cathode MFC by changing solid retention time

New prototypes for the isolation of the anodic chambers in microbial fuel cells

This work has been focused on the assessment of new prototypes of MFC in which a more strict separation of the anode and cathode compartments is looked for, in order to attain strict anaerobic conditions in the anode chamber and hence, avoid lack of efficiency due to the prevalence of non-electrogenic competing microorganisms and to optimize composition of the anolyte and catholyte. A cylinder reactor with an inner chamber with graphite bars acting as anodes and the outer one with a stainless steel tube acting as cathode was used in three different configurations and results obtained during lifetests are compared in terms of electricity production, cathode oxygen consumption and anode COD d…

Effect of air pressure on the electro-Fenton process at carbon felt electrodes

Abstract The effect of air pressure on electro-Fenton (PrEF process) was evaluated using two organic substances (maleic acid and Acid Orange 7) as model organic pollutants. First experiments were performed using a conventional carbon felt (CF) cathode. At room pressure, a slow removal of maleic acid was obtained, together with the generation of formic acid. Conversely, using pressurized air, the removal of maleic acid was dramatically accelerated and the formation of formic acid was not detected. The utilization of a carbon felt modified by the deposition of carbon black + PTFE mixture (MCF) and of pressurized air allowed to achieve even faster and almost total (>95%) removal of total organ…

Single and Coupled Electrochemical Processes and Reactors for the Abatement of Organic Water Pollutants: A Critical Review.

Traditional physicochemical and biological techniques, as well as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), are often inadequate, ineffective, or expensive for industrial water reclamation. Within this context, the electrochemical technologies have found a niche where they can become dominant in the near future, especially for the abatement of biorefractory substances. In this critical review, some of the most promising electrochemical tools for the treatment of wastewater contaminated by organic pollutants are discussed in detail with the following goals: (1) to present the fundamental aspects of the selected processes; (2) to discuss the effect of both the main operating parameters and the rea…

Influence of sludge age on enhanced phosphorus removal in biological systems

The phosphorus removal process was studied in a bench-scale plant for a period of 300 days. The process was observed to depend greatly on two parameters: the amount of volatile fatty acid (VFA) taken up in the anaerobic stage and sludge age. For a given sludge age, phosphorus release versus VFA uptake in the anaerobic stage could be fitted to a straight line, while phosphorus uptake in the non-anaerobic stages fitted a logarithmic curve. Thus, phosphorus removal occurred within a limited VFA uptake range. The range width and the phosphorus removal capacity varied with sludge age.

Effect of sludge age on microbial consortia developed in MFCs

BACKGROUND This work is focused on the assessment of the performance of mini-scale air-breathing microbial fuel cells (MFCs), by monitoring the evolution of the bio-electrogenic activity for a period of 40 days and by comparing the microorganisms populations developed in each of the MFC after this period. RESULTS Five MFCs were operated at sludge ages ranging from 1.4 to 10.0 days. Results showed the superb performance of the MFC operating under a sludge age of 2.5 days. Desulfuromonas, Syntrophothermus, Solitalea, Acholeplasma, Propionicimonas, Desulfobacula and Sphaerochaeta are proposed as potential responsible for the bio-electrogenic activity. CONCLUSIONS Microbial population analysis …

Effect of pressure on the electrochemical generation of hydrogen peroxide in undivided cells on carbon felt electrodes

The electrochemical generation of H2O2can be performed in aqueous solutions by cathodic reduction at carbonaceous cathodes of oxygen coming from air. The performances of the process in terms of concentration of H2O2and current efficiency (CE) are limited by the low solubility of oxygen in water at atmospheric pressure. However, the solubility of oxygen can be increased upon enhancing the air pressure. The effect of pressure on the electrochemical generation of hydrogen peroxide was studied in undivided cells changing the pressure from 0 to 30 relative bar and the current density from 1 to 100 mA cm−2. Simple carbon felt and compact graphite cathodes were first used. A dramatic effect of…

Isobaric Vapor−Liquid Equilibria of the Water + 1-Propanol System at 30, 60, and 100 kPa

Isobaric vapor−liquid equilibria for the water + 1-propanol system are reported at 30, 60, and 100 kPa. The results were found to be thermodynamically consistent according to Van Ness−Byer−Gibbs, Kojima, and Wisniak methods. The system shows a minimum boiling azeotrope, and the azeotropic composition is scarcely shifted with pressure. Results were compared with literature values. The data were correlated with Margules, Van Laar, Wilson, NRTL, and UNIQUAC liquid-phase activity coefficient models.

Isobaric Vapor−Liquid Equilibria of the Water + 2-Propanol System at 30, 60, and 100 kPa

Isobaric vapor−liquid equilibria were obtained for the water + 2-propanol system at 30, 60, and 100 kPa. The activity coefficients were found to be thermodynamically consistent by the methods of Van Ness−Byer−Gibbs, Kojima, and Wisniak. The data were correlated with five liquid phase activity coefficient models (Margules, Van Laar, Wilson, NRTL, and UNIQUAC).

A critical review on latest innovations and future challenges of electrochemical technology for the abatement of organics in water

Updated water directives and ambitious targets like the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have emerged in the last decade to tackle water scarcity and contamination. Although numerous strategies have been developed to remove water pollutants, it is still necessary to enhance their effectiveness against toxic and biorefractory organic molecules. Comprehensive reviews have highlighted the appealing features of the electrochemical technologies, but much progress has been made in recent years. In this timely review, a critical discussion on latest innovations and perspectives of the most promising electrochemical tools for wastewater treatment is presented. The work describes…

Influence of the initial sludge characteristics and acclimation on the longterm performance of double-compartment acetate-fed microbial fuel cells

Abstract In this work, three double-compartment MFCs (DC-MFC) were operated for 1 month in order to compare their performances in terms of wastewater treatment capacity and electricity production and to get information about how this performance is influenced by the start-up procedure. To do this, they underwent different start-up procedures. One of them (aerobic-starved MFC) was inoculated with 100% fresh aerobic sludge, another (anaerobic-starved MFC) using 100% fresh anaerobic sludge, and finally a third one (aerobic-fed MFC) was inoculated using a mixture 10% fresh aerobic sludge and 90% synthetic wastewater (based on acetate). Then, from this start-up, the cells were operated exactly u…

Development of a module of stacks of air-breathing microbial fuel cells to light-up a strip of LEDs

Abstract This work focuses on scaling-up of the microbial fuel cells technology according to the principle of miniaturization and multiplication. Seven stacks of 16 mini-MFCs (electrodic area of 0.866 cm2) were built up leading to a big module of 112 MFCs. The electrical connection among the MFCs in the stacks and among the stacks into the modules was optimized in order to implement this technology. Results show that 1 MFC generates 1.22 mW while the optimization of the electric connection in order to achieve the maximum power results in 6.62 mW compared to the theoretical 182 mW, indicating the existence of large energy losses in the system. However, to light a LED there is not a threshold…

Energy saving in the aeration process by fuzzy logic control

An aeration fuzzy logic based control system has been developed and tested in the main aerobic reactor of a BARDENPHO process pilot plant. This system has been compared with two ordinary aeration process controllers: one- and two-aeration-level on/off controllers. Energy savings of about 40% over the one-level on/off controller and a more stable closed-loop response have been obtained. Thus, an improvement of about 60% in average deviation can be accomplished by the use of an AFLBC.

The influence of sludge retention time on mixed culture microbial fuel cell start-ups

Abstract In this work, the start-ups of air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs) seeds with conventional activated sludge cultivated at different solid retention times (SRTs) are compared. A clear influence of the SRT of the inoculum was observed, corresponding to an SRT of 10 days to the higher current density exerted, about 0.2 A m −2 . This observation points out that, in this type of electrochemical device, it is recommended to use high SRT seeds. The work also points out that in order to promote an efficient start-up, it is not only necessary to use high SRT seeds, but also to feed a high COD concentration. When feeding 10,000 ppm COD and keeping SRT of 10 d differences of current densi…

Nonlinear control of an activated sludge aeration process: use of fuzzy techniques for tuning PID controllers

In this paper, several tuning algorithms, specifically ITAE, IMC and Cohen and Coon, were applied in order to tune an activated sludge aeration PID controller. Performance results of these controllers were compared by simulation with those obtained by using a nonlinear fuzzy PID controller. In order to design this controller, a trial and error procedure was used to determine, as a function of error at current time and at a previous time, sets of parameters (including controller gain, integral time and derivative time) which achieve satisfactory response of a PID controller actuating over the aeration process. Once these sets of data were obtained, neural networks were used to obtain fuzzy m…