Version 2 2024-03-05, 13:35Version 2 2024-03-05, 13:35
Version 1 2024-02-23, 21:17Version 1 2024-02-23, 21:17
journal contribution
posted on 2024-03-05, 13:35authored byXiuting Dong, Dianyu Pang, Gang Luo, Xiuping Zhu
The
world is facing severe environmental pollution and energy shortages.
Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) provide a promising solution by
producing H2 from wastewater. However, MECs face limitations,
such as low current densities, slow H2 production, and
electrogenic bacteria deactivation at high voltages. In this study,
we developed microbial water electrolysis cells (MWECs), a new device
that couples MECs with water electrolysis (WE). At an applied voltage
of 2.2 V, MWECs achieved an industrial-level high current density
of 400 mA/cm2, a fast H2 production rate of
121 L-H2/L/d, and a low energy consumption of 5.93 kWh/m3. Moreover, the protective effect of the abiotic anode in
water electrolysis enabled microorganisms to maintain robust activity
at high voltages in MWECs, with Geobacter, Azospirillum, and Paracoccus as the dominant
genera. This led to a 2-fold increase in chemical oxygen demand (COD)
removal, reaching 1.51 kg/m3/d, compared to MECs. This
study demonstrated the feasibility and advantages of integrating MECs
with water electrolysis to achieve high current densities, fast H2 production rates, and efficient COD removal rates, making
practical applications possible.