INTERNATIONALJOURNALOFENVIRONMENTALSCIENCES Volume2,No 1,2011 Copyright2010AllrightsreservedIntegratedPublishingAssociation Researcharticle ISSN0976 4402

1 2 3 HampannavarU.S ,Anupama ,PradeepN.V . 1AssistantProfessor,CivilEngineeringDepartment,K.L.ESocietysCollegeof EngineeringandTechnology,Belgaum,Karnataka. 2,3 M.TechScholar,K.L.ESocietysCollegeofEngineeringandTechnology,Belgaum, Karnataka. uday_hamp@rediffmail.com

Treatmentofdistillerywastewaterusingsinglechamberanddouble chamberedMFC

ABSTRACT DistillerywastewaterwastreatedinMicrobialFuelCell(MFC)atambientroomtemperature o which varied between 2732 C. Microbial Fuel Cells can be simultaneously used for the treatmentofwastewaterandgenerationofelectricity.InthisstudysinglechamberMFCand double chambered MFC were compared for the distillery wastewater treatment and generationofelectricity.Microorganismspresent indistillerywastewaterandsewagewere used as inoculum, and distillery wastewater acted as substrate. Single chamber MFC was efficient and found to be producing maximum current of 0.84 mA, power density of 28.15 2 mW/m where as double chambered MFC produced a maximum current of 0.36 mA and 2 power density of 17.76 mW/m . Double chambered MFC was efficient in the removal of COD (64% removal) when compared with single chamber MFC which attained 61% COD removal efficiency. The removal of dissolved solids in both single and double chambered MFC was found to be 48%. Five varied feed concentrations were loaded to boththe single and double chambered MFC and the systems were stable. The COD and dissolved solids removal observed in distillery wastewater might be attributed to the microbial catalyzed electrochemical reactions occurring in the anodic chamber of single and double chambered MFC. Keywords: Microbial fuel cell (MFC), bioelectricity, distillery wastewater, organic waste, energyrecovery,aircathode. 1.Introduction Organic wastes released from many process industries are of prime concern to the environment. Their handling, treatment and disposal are the major challenges to such industries. Distillery spent wash is unwanted residual liquid waste generated during alcohol production and pollution caused by it is one of the most critical environmental issue. This posesseverethreattohumanhealthandenvironmentwhennotmanagedproperly.Anumber ofcleanuptechnologieshavebeenputintopracticeandnovelbioremediationapproachesfor treatment of distillery spent wash are being worked out (Mohana et al., 2009). Anaerobic treatmentproducessmallamountofsludgeandenergycanberecovered(Hampannavarand Shivayogimath,2010). Microbialfuelcells(MFC)areuniquedevicesthatcanutilizemicroorganismsascatalystsfor convertingchemicalenergydirectlyintoelectricity,representingapromisingtechnologyfor simultaneousenergyproductionandwastewatertreatment(Liuetal.,2004LoganandRegan, 2006).Tomakethistechnology feasible,powerdensitiesshouldtobe increasedandreduce

ReceivedonApril2011PublishedonSeptember2011

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thecostofconstructionmaterials(Loganetal.,2007Logan,2006Clauwaertetal.,2008). In MFC electrons generated in anode cell reach the cathode and combine with protons that diffuse from anodethroughthe membrane or agar salt bridge (Loganet al., 2006 Min and Logan,2004). MFCs have wider applications including wastewater treatment, production of electricity, bioremediation, hydrogen production, and as environmental sensors (Logan and Regan, 2006).MFCs have beenusedtotreatvariouskindsofwastewatersuchasdomesticsewage (AhnandLogan,2010Liuetal.,2004),brewery(Fengetal.,2008AbhilashaandSharma., 2009), distillery (Mohanakrishna et al., 2010), sugar (Abhilasha and Sharma., 2009), paper andpulp(HuangandLogan,2008),ricemill(Beheraetal.,2010),swinewastewater(Kimet al., 2008) and phenolic wastewater (Luoa et al., 2009). An additional advantage of using MFCs for wastewatertreatment is the potential for reducing solids production compared to aerobic processes (Ahn and Logan, 2010). MFCs have some disadvantages, including the high costs of materials (platinumcatalyst and proton exchange membrane), the low efficiency of organic treatment, among others (Kubota et al., 2010). MFCs operated using mixed microbial cultures currently achieve substantially greater power densities than those withpurecultures(Loganetal.,2006).Verylessstudyhasbeendoneonthecomparisonof singleanddoublechamberedMFCfordistillerywastewatertreatment. In this study, the treatment efficiency and electricity generation using single and double chambered MFC was undertaken and comparisons were made between single and double chambered MFC. Boththe MFC reactors wereoperated at identical ambient environmental conditions. 2. MaterialsandMethods 2.1ElectrodeMaterials Graphite rods from pencils were used as both anode and cathode (Logan and Regan, 2006 Logan et al., 2007). The arrangement of the graphite rods was made in such a way as to providethemaximumsurfaceareaforthedevelopmentofbiofilmonanode.Thelengthand diameter of the graphite rods were 90 mm and 2mm respectively. Pretreatment was not providedfortheelectrodematerials. 2.2MFCReactors TwoMFCreactorswereconstructed,onewassinglechamberMFCandtheotherwasdouble chambered MFC. The reactors were constructed using nonreactive plastic containers with dimensions of 8 X 8 X 12 inches. The electrodes were connected by using copper wire as reported by Logan (2005). The agar salt bridge was used as the proton exchange medium (MomohandNaeyor.,2010).Theelectrodeswereplaced inthechambers,thenweresealed andmadeairtight.Boththereactorswerecheckedforwaterleakage. 2.2.1DoublechamberedMFC Two nonreactive plastic containers were used for Double chambered MFC. One plastic container was used as anode chamber (to be fed with wastewater) and the other as cathode chamberasshowninFigure1.ThewastewaterwasfedtotheanodechamberandPotassium permanganate (catholyte) was fed tothe cathodechamber (Lefebvre et al., 2008 Behera et

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al., 2010). The cathode and anode chambers were connected using agar salt bridge. The lengthanddiameterofagarsaltbridgewas5inchesand1.5inchesrespectively.

Figure1:DoublechamberedMFC. 2.2.2SinglechamberMFC Aplasticcontainerwasusedastheanodechamber.Theagarsaltbridgewasjoinedtoanode chamber. The length and diameter of agar salt bridge was 5 inches and 1.5 inches respectivelyasshowninFigure2.Thegraphiterodswereplacedontheagarsaltbridgeand leftopentoairwhichactedascathode(Logan etal.,2007).

Figure2:SingleChamberAirCathodeMFC.
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TreatmentofdistillerywastewaterusingsinglechamberanddoublechamberedMFC

2.3DistilleryWastewaterandMicrobialInoculum The distillery wastewater was used as substrate and sewage as sourceof inoculum. No any additional nutrients were given for microorganisms except the nutrients present in the distillerywastewater. Table1:Characteristicsofdistillerywastewater Characteristics pH Colour BOD(mg/L) COD(mg/L) TotalSolids(mg/L) DissolvedSolids(mg/L) Chlorides(mg/L) Conductivity(mS/cm) 2.4ExperimentalConditions The anode chamber was filled with distillery wastewater so that microorganisms in the wastewater could colonize the electrodes and produce electricity. The samples were drawn fromthechambersperiodicallyandanalysed.Theambientroomtemperatureduringmostof theperiodofstudy varied between27 oCand32 oC. Whenthereactorreached steadystate conditions,thereactorwasloadedwithdistillerywastewaterofhigherconcentration. 2.5Analyses Thevoltage(V)andCurrent(I)intheMFCcircuitwasmonitoredat24hourintervalsusinga multimeter (UNIT , Model Number DT830D) (Kim et al., 2005). Analytical procedures followedinthisstudywerethoseoutlinedinStandardMethods(1995). 3.ResultsandDiscussions The single and double chambered MFC were run parallel. The whole study was conducted underambientenvironmentalconditions.Differentfeedconcentrationsweregivenforsingle anddoublechamberedMFC.Theincreaseinfeedconcentrationshowedapositiveeffecton thecurrentandvoltage.Fivefeedconcentrationsfrom2.1gCOD/Lto6.1gCOD/Lwithan increment of 1g COD/L were given. The study is under progress for higher feed concentrations. 3.1CODremovalefficiency Atevery incrementin feedconcentration,theimprovement inCODremovalefficiencywas observed. Distillery wastewater showed its potential for COD removal indicating the function of microbes, present in wastewaters in metabolizing the carbon source as electron donors. It is evident from experimental data that current generation and COD removal showedrelativecompatibility.ContinuousCODremovalwasobservedinboththeMFCs.In double chambered MFC, COD removal efficiency increased from 52% to 64% as the feed concentration increased from 2.1 g COD/L to 6.1 g COD/L respectively (Figure 3). In the
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Value 4.1 DarkBrown 42000 102500 73980 59740 6900 19.5

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case of single chamber MFC, the COD removal efficiency increased from 55% to 61% for the same feed concentrations (Figure 4). The findings of this study are near to Feng et al (2008)who conductedthestudiesonbrewerywastewatertreatmentusingaircathodeMFC. Liu et al (2004) conducted the studies on domestic wastewater treatment using single chamber MFC and observed 50% to 70% COD removal efficiency. Liu and Logan (2004) reported a COD removal efficiency of 55% using the MFC with a proton exchange membrane(PEM),and75%usingtheMFCwithoutaPEM.
7000 6000 5000 CODinmg/L 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tim eindays

2.1gCOD/L 3.1gCOD/L 4.1gCOD/L 5.1gCOD/L 6.1gCOD/L

Figure3:CODreductionindoublechamberedMFC.
7000 6000 CODinmg/L 5000 2.1gCOD/L 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tim eindays 3.1gCOD/L 4.1gCOD/L 5.1gCOD/L 6.1gCOD/L

Figure4:CODreductioninsinglechamberMFC. The COD removal efficiency was almost similar in single and double chambered MFC but singlechamberMFCshowedmoreconsistentCODremovalthandoublechamberedMFC. 3.2Dissolvedsolidsremovalefficiency Distillerybasedwastewatercharacteristicallycontainshigherconcentrationofsolids.During theoperation considerable reduction in dissolved solids concentration wasobserved in both the reactors. The reduction of dissolved solids increased with the increase in feed concentration. As the feed concentration increased from 2.1 g COD/L to 6.1 g COD/L,the
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dissolved solids removal efficiency increased from 41% to 48% respectively in both of the reactors(Figure5andFigure6).Mohanakrishnaetal(2010)havereported24%reductionin totaldissolvedsolids(TDS)whiletreatingdistillerywastewaterusingcontinuousflowsingle chamberaircathodeMFC.
6000 5000 2.1gCOD/L D Sm g /L 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tim eindays 3.1gCOD/L 4.1gCOD/L 5.1gCOD/L 6.1gCOD/L

Figure5:DissolvedsolidsreductionindoublechamberedMFC.
6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Timeindays 2.1gCOD/L 3.1gCOD/L 4.1gCOD/L 5.1gCOD/L 6.1gCOD/L

Figure6:DissolvedsolidsreductioninsinglechamberMFC. InsingleanddoublechamberedMFC,thedissolvedsolidsreductionwasefficientandalmost similar. 3.3CurrentandPowerDensity Theaveragevaluesofcurrentandpowerdensityforeachfeedconcentrationareasgivenin the Figure 7 and Figure 8 respectively. The current and power density showed a gradual increase with respect to the increase in feed concentration. The similar observation was reportedduringthetreatmentofdistillerywastewaterbyMohanakrishnaetal(2010).

DSin m g/L

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0.7 0.6 0.5 Currentinm A 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 2 4 6 8

DoubleChamberMFC SingleChamberMFC

FeedconcentrationingCOD/L

Figure7:Averagevaluesofcurrentobtainedateachfeedconcentration.

30

25
2 PowerDensitymW/m

20 DoubleChamberMFC 15 SingleChamberMFC

10

0 0 2 4 6 8

FeedconcentrationingCOD/L

Figure8:Averagepowerdensityobtainedateach feedconcentration. Thecurrentandpowerdensitiesweremuch higherinsinglechamberMFCwhencompared withdoublechamberedMFC.Logan etal.,(2007)havereportedtheadvantageofaircathode MFC (compared with the cathode suspended in water) as oxygen transfer to the cathode occurs directly from air, and thus oxygen does not have to be dissolved in water. The abundantelectronacceptorsi.e.,oxygenavailabilityinairisthereasonforthehighercurrent generation. The current and power density of MFCs with various types of wastewaters and the present studyareasgiveninTable2.

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Table2:PerformanceofMFCswithvarioustypesofwastewaters.
Typeof wastewater Domestic wastewater Domestic wastewater MFC Configuration Single chamberair cathode Twochamber Operating pH Current inmA (Max) 0.92 Power densityin 2 mW/m 28 Reference

7.3to7.6

Liuand Logon.,2004 Minand Logon.,2004

6to7

1.03

72

Ricemill wastewater Distillery wastewater (Differentfeed concentrations)

Dualchamber (PEM) Twochamber

7 6

1.07 0.34

15.57 17.76

Beheraetal., 2010 Presentstudy

Single chamberair Cathode

Presentstudy 6 0.84 28.15

4.Conclusions The study demonstrated effective treatment of distillery wastewater of feed concentrations from2.1gCOD/Lto6.1gCOD/Lsimultaneouslygeneratingelectricity.Thesinglechamber aircathodeMFCprovestobemorereliablebecauseofthereducedcostofconstruction,low maintenanceandhigherelectricitygenerationwhencomparedwithdoublechamberedMFC. Boththereactorsexhibitedstableoperation. 5.References 1. Abhilasha S. M and Sharma V. N., (2009). Bioelectricity production from various wastewaters through microbial fuel cell technology, Journal of BiochemicalTechnology,2(1),pp133137. 2. AbhilashaS.MandSharmaV.N.,(2010).TreatmentofBreweryWastewaterand production of electricity through Microbial Fuel Cell Technology, International JournalofBiotechnologyandBiochemistry,6(1),pp7180. 3. AhnYandLoganB.E.,(2010).Effectivenessofdomesticwastewatertreatment using microbial fuel cells at ambient and mesophilic temperatures, Bioresource Technology,101,pp469475. 4. Behera M., Jana P. S., More T. T., Ghangrekar M. M., (2010). Rice mill wastewater treatment in microbial fuel cells fabricated using proton exchange membraneandearthenpotatdifferentpH,Bioelectrochemistry,79,pp228233. 5. Clauwaert P., Aelterman P., Pham T. H., Schamphelaire L.D., Carballa M., Rabaey K., Verstraete W., (2008). Minimizing losses in bioelectrochemical

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systems:theroadtoapplications,AppliedMicrobiologyandBiotechnology,79, pp901913. 6. FengY.,WangX.,LoganB.E.,LeeH.,(2008).Brewerywastewatertreatment usingaircathodemicrobialfuelcells,AppliedMicrobiologyandBiotechnology, 78,pp873880. 7. Hampannavar U.S and Shivayogimath C.B., (2010). Anaerobic treatment of sugarindustrywastewaterbyUpflowanaerobicsludgeblanketreactoratambient temperature,InternationalJournalofEnvironmentalSciences,1(4),pp631639. 8. HuangLandLoganB.E.,(2008).Electricitygenerationandtreatmentofpaper recycling wastewater using a microbial fuel cell, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,80,pp349355. 9. KimJ.R.,Min,B.,LoganB.E.,(2005).Evaluationof procedurestoacclimatea microbial fuel cell for electricity production, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,68,pp2330. 10. Kim J. E., Dec J., Bruns M. E., Logan B.E., (2008). Reduction of Odors from Swine Wastewater by Using Microbial Fuel Cells, Applied and Environmental Microbiology,74(8),pp25402543. 11. KubotaK.,YoochatchavalW.,YamaguchiT.,SyutsuboK.,(2010).Application of a SingleChamber Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) for organic wastewater treatment: Influence of changes in wastewater composition on the process performance,SustainableEnvironmentResearch,20(6),pp347351. 12. Lefebvre O., AlMamun A., and Ng H. Y., (2008). A microbial fuel cell equipped with a biocathode for organic reduction and denitrification, Water Science&Technology,58(4),pp881885. 13. Liu H and Logan B. E., (2004). Electricity Generation Using an AirCathode Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell in the Presence and Absence of a Proton ExchangeMembrane,EnvironmentalScienceandTechnology,38,pp40404046. 14. LiuH.,RamnarayananR.,LoganB.E.,(2004).Productionofelectricityduring wastewatertreatmentusingasinglechambermicrobial fuelcell,Environmental ScienceandTechnology,38,pp22812285. 15. Logan B. E and Regan J. M., (2006). Microbial fuel cells challenges and applications,EnvironmentalScienceandTechnology,40,pp51725180. 16. Logan B. E., Aelterman P., Hamelers B., Rozendal R., Schroder U., Keller J., FreguiacS.,VerstraeteW.,RabaeyK.,(2006).Microbialfuelcells:methodology andtechnology,EnvironmentalScienceandTechnology,40(17),pp51815192. 17. Logan B. E., Cheng S., Watson V., Estadt G., (2007). Graphite Fiber Brush Anodes for Increased Power Production in AirCathode Microbial Fuel Cells, EnvironmentalScienceandTechnology,41,pp33413346.

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18. LoganB.E.,(2005).Simultaneouswastewatertreatmentandbiologicalelectricity generation,WaterScience&Technology,52,pp3137. 19. Logan B. E., (2009). Exoelectrogenic bacteria that power microbial fuel cells, NatureReviewsMicrobiology,7,pp375381. 20. LoganB.E.,(2010).Scalingupmicrobialfuelcellsandotherbioelectrochemical systems,AppliedMicrobiologyandBiotechnology,85,pp16651671. 21. LuoaH.,LiuaG.,ZhangaR.,JinS.,(2009).Phenoldegradationinmicrobialfuel cells,ChemicalEngineeringJournal,147,pp259264. 22. Min B and Logan B. E., (2004). Continuous Electricity Generation from DomesticWastewaterandOrganicSubstratesinaFlatPlateMicrobialFuelCell, EnvironmentalScienceandTechnology,38,pp58095814. 23. Mohana S., Bhavik K. A., Madamwar D., (2009). Distillery spent wash: Treatment technologies and potential applications, Journal of Hazardous Materials,163,pp1225. 24. MohanakrishnaG.,VenkataMohanS.,SarmaP.N.,(2010).Bioelectrochemical treatmentofdistillerywastewaterinmicrobialfuelcellfacilitatingdecolorization and desalination along with power generation, Journal of Hazardous Material, 177,pp487494. 25. MomohO.LandNaeyorB.A.,(2010).Anovelelectronacceptorformicrobial fuel cells: Nature of circuit connection on internal resistance, Journal of BiochemicalTechnology,2(4),pp216220. 26. Rabaey K and Verstraete W., (2005). Microbial fuel cells: novel biotechnology forenergygeneration,TrendsinBiotechnology,23(6),pp291298. 27. Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater, (1995). 19 th Edition. Prepared and Published by American Public Health Association, AmericanWaterWorksAssociation,WaterPollutionControlFederation.

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