Numerical Experiments on Performance of Microbial Fuel Cells in Wastewater-to-Energy System

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) systems in wastewater treatment processes have been the focus of extensive research due to their unique advantages of converting the chemical energy stored in waste to electricity while leaving low concentrations of nutrients in the effluent. While past studies have been extensively based on experimental studies, modeling and simulations are still sparse. Among all parameters and constraints inside and outside the MFCs, hydraulic retention time (HRT) directly influences the removal efficiency and operational cost. Finding out the relationship between HRT and the maximum voltage output of MFC will help future applications select a proper HRT to meet both economic and practical requirements. A MATLAB model is developed based on this purpose, and by setting other parameters as fixed, different maximum voltage outputs can be stimulated based on different HRT inputs. Four different cases under HRT of 6, 12, 24, and 48 h are simulated using the model. More results can be generated and compared using this model by customizing different variables after an acceptable HRT is selected for the MFC systems to determine the most efficient and sustainable condition for wastewater treatment.