Novel self-stratifying bioelectrochemical system for municipal wastewater treatment halves nitrous oxide emissions.

Reducing carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions are prime global goals. Wastewater treatment contributes significantly, and this study developed a technology with a focus on utilisation in small-decentralised plants. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) utilise bacteria to remove pollutants while generating power and a range of experiments were performed to investigate their suitability compared to conventional trickling filters.

Effect of iron oxide content and microstructural porosity on the performance of ceramic membranes as microbial fuel cell separators.

Ceramic materials based on naturally occurring clays are a low cost and environmentally friendly alternative to commercial polymer-based membranes in bioelectrochemical systems. In this work, ceramic membranes containing different amounts of iron oxide (1.06, 2.

From the lab to the field: Self-stratifying microbial fuel cells stacks directly powering lights.

The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology relies on energy storage and harvesting circuitry to deliver stable power outputs. This increases costs, and for wider deployment into society, these should be kept minimal. The present study reports how a MFC system was developed to continuously power public toilet lighting, with for the first time no energy storage nor harvesting circuitry.

Scaling up self-stratifying supercapacitive microbial fuel cell.

Self-stratifying microbial fuel cells with three different electrodes sizes and volumes were operated in supercapacitive mode. As the electrodes size increased, the equivalent series resistance decreased, and the overall power was enhanced (small: ESR = 7.2 Ω and P  = 13 mW; large: ESR = 4.