A Pilot-scale Benthic Microbial Electrochemical System (BMES) for Enhanced Organic Removal in Sediment Restoration

Abstract

A benthic microbial electrochemical systems (BMES) of 195 L (120 cm long, 25 cm wide and 65 cm height) was constructed for sediment organic removal. Sediment from a natural river (Ashi River) was used as test sediments in the present research. Three-dimensional anode (Tri-DSA) with honeycomb structure composed of carbon cloth and supporting skeleton was employed in this research for the first time. The results demonstrated that BMES performed good in organic-matter degradation and energy generation from sediment and could be considered for river sediments in situ restoration as novel method. Community analysis from the soil and anode using 16S rDNA gene sequencing showed that more electrogenic functional bacteria was accumulated in anode area when circuit connected than control system.

Assessment of Electron Transfer Mechanisms during a Long-Term Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell Operation

“…The interaction with sediments can be engineered to provide artificial bioservices. One bioservice is the Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell (SMFC) that consists of an anode buried in the anoxic sediment and a cathode suspended in the aerobic water column connected by an external resistor [5,6]. Bacteria in a SMFC mediate the transfer of electrons from carbon sources to the anode, thus generating an electric current.…”

“…Currently, the main application described in the literature for SMFCs is as a long-term power source for autonomous sensors and communication devices [8]. In addition, SMFCs have also been explored as one type of new technology for removing organic matter from sediments [5,9,10] and for controlling phosphorus solubilization in eutrophic lake sediments [11][12][13]. (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) correspond to the points indicated in Figure 2.…”

SMFC as a tool for the removal of hydrocarbons and metals in the marine environment: a concise research update

“…The first SMFC prototypes date back to about 10 years ago (Gong et al 2011;Guzman et al 2010). Since then, SMFCs have been tested in sea rivers, lakes, and other aquatic environments (Yu and Li 2015;Li et al 2017), with the aim to have a source of energy to feed sensors and other electronic devices for environmental monitoring (Hsu et al 2013). However, great efforts have been spent to scale-up SMFCs to reclaim marine sediment polluted by PAHs (Song et al 2014;Hong et al 2010;Donovan et al 2013b, Ewing et al 2014Zaisheng et al 2012;Li et al 2017, Babauta et al 2018Liu et al 2016).…”

Microbial Fuel Cells, Related Technologies, and Their Applications

“…In areas of low organic matter, SMFCs can be positioned in areas with high organic flux such as beneath fish farms, near wastewater treatment outlets and other nutrient-rich environments [2]. The use of BMFCs as an in situ restoration solution for the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) has been demonstrated using sediments from riverbeds with up to 50% removal of some PAHs over a 60-day period [119]. BMFCs present an ideal alternative power source compared to replaceable batteries for marine sensors such as magnetometers and acoustic sensors, with these systems having been operated for up to 6 months purely on BMFC-provided power [120,121].…”