Nitrification, Denitrification, and Power Generation Enhanced by Photocatalysis in Microbial Fuel Cells in the Absence of Organic Compounds

In this study, a novel reactor using a biocathode microbial fuel cell and photocatalysis was designed for simultaneous nitrogen removal and power generation in the absence of organic compounds. To ehhance the redox potential of microbial fuel calls, two pieces of conductive glass :coated with TiO2 and SiO2 were attached to the anode and cathode electrodes, respectively. Nitrification and denitrification,occurred in the anode and cathode chambers, respectively. As the sole electron donor, ammonium supported the current production without,organic compounds in the anode chamber. In the cathode chamber, the denitrification process occurred with nitrate as the electron acceptor. Moreover, With the effect of ultraviolet irradiation of the conductive glasses, which is in contact with the anode and cathode, nitrification and power generation were both enhanced. The nitrification rate was increased from 0.58 to 1.34 mg L-1 h(-1), and the denitrification rate was increased from 0.5 to 1.2 mg L-1 h(-1). In addition, the current generation increased from 0012 to 0.032 mA (an average current). This study demonstrated that photocatalysis, can be applied to enhance the nitrification, denitrification, and power generation in microbial fuel cells in the absence of organic carbon.