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Microbial fuel cells (MFC) and membrane bioreactors (MBR) are promising technologies for wastewater treatment. However, both of them have some drawbacks and application limitations. A cost-effective hybrid system (EMBR) integrating MFC with MBR was evaluated in terms of treatment performance and membrane fouling. In this paper, two electric field directions with a membrane module in the middle were applied to explore the mechanism of membrane fouling mitigation in EMBRs. In both configurations of EMBRs, microbial activity and degradation ability of activated sludge for chemical oxygen demand and NH-N removals could be enhanced compared with those for the controlled MBR. In addition, the irreversible resistance significantly decreased, especially in the EMBR(-) with a longer operation time. Furthermore, two critical factors, namely enhanced bioflocculation and electrophoresis forces, were compared based on key parameters (zeta potential, particle size distribution and extracellular polymeric substances). The electrophoresis forces made a greater contribution to fouling alleviation than that conducted by the enhanced bioflocculation. The results suggested that EMBR, as a promising wastewater treatment technology, improved effluent quality and reduced energy consumption.

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Abstract-Electricity generation by single-chamber air cathode fuel cells (MFCs) is considerably influenced by power management system(PMS). This study showed that application of PMS connected with a single-chamber air cathode MFC significantly improved its columbic efficiencies (CEs), current, and power output. In MFC tests based on PMS, the optimal COD of influent was 400 mg/L, achieving the highest CE (4.59%) and the optimal COD of influent 800 mg/L with the highest harvesting efficiency(9.80%), which were higher than those in MFCs connecting resistors. The ranges of voltage output and power out of MFC based on PMS were 1.60 ~ 2.00 V, 2.56 ~ 4.00 mW, higher than those in MFCs with resistors, while low COD prolonged charge time. PMS improved MFC performance, and both of the electricity generation of MFC and the harvesting efficiency should be considered.

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