Treatment of pulp and paper industry effluent and electricity generation by constructed wetland coupled with microbial fuel cell (CW-MFC)

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have got a remarkable consideration for its capability to perk up the degradation of some unmanageable pollutants and simultaneous electricity production. A microbial fuel cell coupled constructed wetland (CW-MFC) is a latest technology to treat the wastewater and produce energy which has more wastewater treatment volume and more easily to maintenance than others MFCs. In this work, the effects of hydraulic residence time (HRT), COD concentration on the electricity production of CW-MFC and the degradation characteristics of pulp and paper effluent were investigated. The highest electricity production was obtained when HRT was 5 day. The highest degradation rate for BOD was 97.86% in S2, COD 89.09%, 88.54% for chloride in S3 and voltage 26.33 mV, current 29 mA respectively, in the S2 was achieved. Further investigations are needed to optimize CW-MFC performance and explain the mechanism of bio refractory compounds degradation and electron motion in CW-MFCs.