Microbial fuel cell: A green eco-friendly agent for tannery wastewater treatment and simultaneous bioelectricity/power generation

Christina Saran; Diane Purchase; Ganesh Dattatraya Saratale; Rijuta Ganesh Saratale; Luiz Fernando Romanholo Ferreira; Muhammad Bilal; Hafiz M N Iqbal; Chaudhery Mustansar Hussain; Sikandar I Mulla; Ram Naresh Bharagava

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137072

Microbial fuel cell: A green eco-friendly agent for tannery wastewater treatment and simultaneous bioelectricity/power generation

Chemosphere. 2023 Jan;312(Pt 1):137072. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137072. Epub 2022 Nov 3.

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Bioremediation and Metagenomics Research (LBMR), Department of Environmental Microbiology (DEM), Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Vidya Vihar, Raebareli Road, Lucknow, (U.P.), India, 226 025.
² Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, Hendon, London, NW4 4BT, England, United Kingdom.
³ Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Dongguk University, Seoul, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 10326, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Research Institute of Integrative Life Sciences, Dongguk University-Seoul, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggido 10326, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Waste and Effluent Treatment Laboratory, Institute of Technology and Research (ITP), Tiradentes University, Farolândia, Aracaju, SE, 49032-490, Brazil; Graduate Program in Process Engineering, Tiradentes University (UNIT), Av. Murilo Dantas, 300, Farolândia, 49032-490, Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil.
⁶ Institute of Chemical Technology and Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Poznan University of Technology, Berdychowo 4, PL-60695 Poznan, Poland.
⁷ Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey, N.L., CP 64849, Mexico.
⁸ Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA.
⁹ Department of Biochemistry, School of Allied Health Sciences, REVA University, Bangalore, India.
¹⁰ Laboratory of Bioremediation and Metagenomics Research (LBMR), Department of Environmental Microbiology (DEM), Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Vidya Vihar, Raebareli Road, Lucknow, (U.P.), India, 226 025. Electronic address: bharagavarnbbau11@gmail.com.

PMID: 36336023
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137072

Abstract

This review paper emphasised on the origin of hexavalent chromium toxicity in tannery wastewater and its remediation using novel Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology, including electroactive bacteria, which are known as exoelectrogens, to simultaneously treat wastewater and its action in the production of bioenergy and the mechanism of Cr⁶⁺ reduction. Also, there are various parameters like electrode, pH, mode of operation, time of operation, and type of exchange membrane used for promising results shown in enhancing MFC production and remediation of Cr⁶⁺. Destructive anthropological activities, such as leather making and electroplating industries are key sources of hexavalent chromium contamination in aquatic repositories. When Cr⁶⁺ enters the food chain and enters the human body, it has the potential to cause cancer. MFC is a green innovation that generates energy economically through the reduction of toxic Cr⁶⁺ to less toxic Cr³⁺. The organic substrates utilized at the anode of MFC act as electrons (e^-) donors. This review also highlighted the utilization of cheap substrates to make MFCs more economically suitable and the energy production at minimum cost.

Keywords: Environmental sustainability; Hexavalent chromium; Microbial fuel cells; Power generation; Reduction; Tannery wastewater.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Bioelectric Energy Sources* / microbiology
Chromium / metabolism
Electricity
Electrodes
Humans
Wastewater
Water Purification*

Substances

chromium hexavalent ion
Waste Water
Chromium