Dependency of simultaneous Cr(VI), Cu(II) and Cd(II) reduction on the cathodes of microbial electrolysis cells self-driven by microbial fuel cells

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) using either Cr(VI) (MFCsCr) or Cu(II) (MFCsCu) as a final electron acceptor, are stacked to self-drive microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) using Cd(II) (MECsCd) as an electron acceptor for simultaneous reduction of Cr(VI) in MFCsCr, Cu(II) in MFCsCu, and Cd(II) in MECsCd with no external energy consumption. Titanium sheet (TS) and carbon rod (CR) as the cathodes of MECsCd are assessed for efficient system performance. MFCsCr and MFCsCu in series is superior to the parallel configuration, and higher Cd(II) reduction along with simultaneous Cr(VI) and Cu(II) reduction supports TS function as a good cathode material. Conversely, CR can not entirely proceed Cd(II) reduction in MECsCd despite of more Cr(VI) and Cu(II) reduction in the same serial configuration than either system alone. While a decrease in cathode volume in both MFCsCr and MFCsCu with serial connection benefits to reduction of Cr(VI) in MFCsCr and Cu(II) in MFCsCu, Cd(II) reduction in MECsCd is substantially enhanced under a decrease in cathode volume in individual MFCsCr and serially connected with volume-unchanged MFCsCu. This study demonstrates simultaneous Cr(VI), Cu(II) and Cd(II) recovery from MFCsCr-MFCsCu-MECsCd self-driven system is feasible, and TS as the cathodes of MECsCd is critical for efficient system performance. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.