Electricity generation and heavy metal remediation by utilizing yam (Dioscorea alata) waste in benthic microbial fuel cells (BMFCs)
By Fadzli, Fatin Syahirah; Rashid, Mohd; Yaqoob, Asim Ali; Mohamad Ibrahim, Mohamad Nasir
Published in Biochemical Engineering Journal
2021
Abstract
In the present study, yam (Dioscorea alata) waste is used in benthic microbial fuel cells (BMFCs) to remediate heavy metals (Pb2+, Cd2+, Cr3+) from the metals-supplemented pond water. The obtained energy efficiency was 0.0744 mW/m2 while the targeted heavy metals remediation results are very encouraging. Within 30 days of the BMFCs operation, the remediation efficiency of Pb2+ was 90.14 %, Cd2+ was 88.00 % and Cr3+ showed 90.34 %. The Bacillus, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter species, which are responsible for metal remediation and energy generation, were identified during the biological tests. Additionally, pH and temperature optimizations were carried out to predict the optimum conditions for the industrial-scale BMFCs operation. Lastly, the BMFCs mechanism and future recommendations are included.