Removal and Changes of Sediment Organic Matter and Electricity Generation by Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells and Amorphous Ferric Hydroxide

X. Xu, Q. L. Zhao and M. S. Wu

Abstract
Sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC) could reduce the total organic carbon (TOC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of sediment, change the proportion of biopolymer (BP), fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA), as well as generate electricity. After start-up of 15 days, the maximum voltage and power density of 0.679 V and 4.03 W m–3 were achieved. Fe(III) addition affected electricity generation slightly. The combined application of Fe(III) addition and SMFC employment led to the highest removal rate (50.2 % of TOC and 74.6 % of DOC). Fe(III) addition could promote the removal of complex and high molecular-weight organic matter such as HA. The combined application of SMFC and Fe(III) addition offered a more efficient method to solve sediment pollution problems.

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Keywords
sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC), electricity generation, organic removal, Fe(III) addition