Electricity generation by microbial fuel cell using pulp and paper mill wastewater, vermicompostand <em>Escherichia coli</em>

Abstract

In the present study, microbial fuel cell (MFC) containing aluminium plates as electrodes was used for power generation utilizing different sources, such as, pulp and paper mill wastewater, vermicompost and <em>Escherichia coli</em>. The pulp and paper mill wastewater (effluent) and vermicompost served as an effective substrate as they are rich in organic content, while the bacterium (<em>E. coli</em>) was grown under anaerobic condition in MFC. It was observed that aluminium plates gave a maximum of 699 mV electricity after 60 h of operation when used with wastewater, while the cell using vermicompost functioned disappointingly to produce a maximum of 131 mV. In case of <em>E.coli</em>, a maximum of 456 mV electricity was generated. In the MFC, anode solution was in batch and cathode was in continuous mode of operation under optimum conditions of the operating parameters like pH, oxygen flow rate and substrate concentration.