Inhibition of microbial fuel cell operation for municipal wastewater treatment by impact loads of free ammonia in bench- and 45 L-scale

A 45-liter microbial fuel cell (MFC) system was integrated into a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The system was operated under practical conditions with supernatant of a pre-thickener for 50 days in order to identify, whether higher power output and energy recovery is possible compared to the use of primary clarifier effluent, as used in a previous study. The higher COD (chemical oxygen demand) loading rates of supernatant neither increased power densities, nor energy recovery, but impact loads of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) in concentrations >800 mg/L (free ammonia nitrogen (FAN) > 40 mg/L) led to an instant collapse of power output and nutrient removal, which was reversed when ammonia concentrations decreased. Investigations in lab-scale under defined conditions verified that the inhibition of the exoelectrogenic biofilm is in fact caused by high levels of FAN. Here, COD removal, power output and energy recovery constantly decreased, when FAN-concentrations were increased above 64 mg/L. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.