Microbial Study with Mathematical and Statistical Modelling for Synchronous Biotreatment of Actual Restaurant Wastewater and Bioelectricity Recovery in Microbial Fuel Cell

Abstract

The demand for energy resources is constantly increasing. That means need more fossil fuels to provide them. People consume a lot of food and this produces many wastes. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) represent a new technological method with the potential to generate bioelectricity by the action of electrogenic bacteria on food wastes while reducing the amount of food wastes. This study investigated the possibility of usage of real restaurant wastewater as a fuel (substrate) for microbial fuel cell and its effects on the bacterial consortium attached to the electrodes. Mathematical (R² > 0.96) and statistical (R² > 0.99) models were conducted for the MFC performance focusing on the polarization curves. The study demonstrated that the highest COD removal (88.69%) in the semi-batch mode and (99.64%) in continuous mode, and power density (10.9 mW/m²) and (56.8 mW/m²) in semi-batch and continuous mode, respectively. The Bacterial diagnosis for anodophilic biofilm showed important differences in distribution and density of a heavy growth consortium after operation. This research offers restaurants an eco-friendly solution. This is because it demonstrates the benefits of using their own wastewater for power generation, reducing costs and saving the environment.