Optimization and modelling of volatile fatty acid generation in a leachate bed reactor for utilization in microbial fuel cells

Abstract

Volatile fatty acid (VFA)‐rich leachate generated from acidogenesis of kitchen waste in a leach bed reactor (LBR) was utilized in an earthen microbial fuel cell (EMFC) to generate electricity. Effects of organic loading rate (OLR, 5–10 g VS/L·day) and pH (5–7) on LBR enumerated optimized parameters of OLR (10 g VS/L·day) and pH (5.74) to obtain total VFA (TVFA) of 7.7 ± 0.3 g/L in the leachate, with maximum contribution from acetic acid. Leachate obtained from the LBR was fed to the EMFC with varying OLR (2–7 kg COD/m3·day). The highest power density of 0.76 W/m3 (at OLR 7 kg COD/m3·day) was obtained with higher VFA content in the leachate. A neural network based on the Levenberg–Marquard function effectively predicted chemical oxygen demand and TVFA removal. This study establishes LBR as a techno‐economic method to obtain useful substrate for EMFC. Furthermore, the response modelling of EMFC demonstrates the potential of utilizing machine learning in biological treatment.

Potential Use of Andean Tuber Waste for the Generation of Environmentally Sustainable Bioelectricity

“…Likewise, Ahmad A. (2023) also used potato waste as a substrate in his single-chamber MFCs, managing to generate 150 mV with an internal resistance of 724 Ω and a power density of 1.450 mW/m 2 [10]. Kitchen waste has also been used, generating a power density of 0.76 W/m 3 and registering an optimal operating pH of 5.74 [11].…”