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Carbon Neutral Electricity Production from Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Leachate Using Algal-Assisted Microbial Fuel Cell

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Abstract

We demonstrate the feasibility of algal lipid production and bioelectricity generation with concurrent treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) leachate in a double-chamber algal-assisted microbial fuel cell (AAMFC). The cathode chamber was loaded with Synechococcus sp. and MSW leachate whereas anode chamber was loaded with anaerobic microflora. While treating 50% MSW leachate, highest power density (95.63 mW/m2), current density (2.48 A/m2), and biomass concentration (2.54 g/l) were observed. The algal growth in the cathode chamber increased the oxygen concentration from 5.5 to 8.6 mg/l. Secondly, we studied the influence of salinity in AAMFC performance. The addition of 30 mM NaCl with 50% leachate increased the power and current density to 110.92 mW/m2 and 5.169 A/m2, respectively. It also increased the biomass concentration, protein, and lipid content. The analysis of fatty acid profile of algae confirmed the presence of palmitic acid, stearic acid, and linoleic acid. The proposed technique is effective for concurrent treatment of MSW leachate and power generation besides algal lipid production without external aeration.

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Abbreviations

X :

Concentration of algae at time t (h)

K :

Carrying capacity of the algal biomass concentration (g/l)

μ :

Specific growth rate (/day)

a :

Constant

R s :

Rate of nutrient removal (mg/l/day)

S i :

Initial concentration of the substrate (mg/l)

S f :

Final concentration of the substrate (mg/l)

ti and tf :

Initial and final time corresponding to the substrate concentration (h)

Abbreviations

AAMFC :

algal-assisted microbial fuel cells

MSW :

municipal solid waste

FAME :

fatty acid methyl ester

COD :

chemical oxygen demand

BOD :

biological oxygen demand

TDS :

total dissolved solids

TSS :

total suspended solids

TN :

total nitrogen

TP :

total phosphorus

DO :

dissolved oxygen

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India, for granting the Senior Research Fellowship (CSIR-SRF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Alagappa College of Technology, Anna University, Chennai, 600025, India

    Rajendran Lakshmidevi & Nagarajan Nagendra Gandhi

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, 620015, India

    Karuppan Muthukumar

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Lakshmidevi, R., Gandhi, N.N. & Muthukumar, K. Carbon Neutral Electricity Production from Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Leachate Using Algal-Assisted Microbial Fuel Cell. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 191, 852–866 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-019-03160-5

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