Research Output
The Effect of Different Pretreatment of Chicken Manure for Electricity Generation in Membrane-Less Microbial Fuel Cell
Efficiency of Fabricated Adsorptive Polysulfone Mixed Matrix Membrane for Acetic Acid Separation
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Publication
The need for energy resources is growing all the time, which means that more fossil fuels are needed to provide them. People prefer to consume chicken as a source of protein, and this creates an abundance of waste. Thus, microbial fuel cells represent a new technological approach with the potential to generate electricity through the action of electrogenic bacteria toward chicken manure, while reducing the abundance of chicken manure. This study investigated the effect of different pretreatment (thermal, alkaline, and sonication pretreatment) of chicken manure to improve the performance of a membrane-less microbial fuel cell (ML-MFC). Statistical response surface methodology (RSM) through a central composite design (CCD) under a quadratic model was conducted for optimization of the ML-MFC performance focusing on the COD removal efficiency (R2 = 0.8917), biomass (R2 = 0.9101), and power density response (R2 = 0.8794). The study demonstrated that the highest COD removal (80.68%), biomass (7.8539 mg/L), and power density (220 mW/m2) were obtained when the pretreatment conditions were 140 °C, 20 kHz, and pH 10. The polarization curve of the best condition of ML-MFC was plotted to classify the behavior of the ML-MFC. The kinetic growth of Bacillus subtillis (BS) showed that, in treated chicken manure, the specific growth rate µ = 0.20 h−1 and doubling time Td = 3.43 h, whereas, in untreated chicken manure, µ = 0.11 h−1 and Td = 6.08.
Publication
The ultrafiltration mixed matrix membrane (UF MMMs) process represents an applicable approach for the removal of diluted acetic acid at low concentrations, owing to the low pressures applied. The addition of efficient additives represents an approach to further improve membrane porosity and, subsequently, enhance acetic acid removal. This work demonstrates the incorporation of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as additives into polysulfone (PSf) polymer via the non-solvent-induced phase-inversion (NIPS) method to improve the performance of PSf MMMs performance. Eight PSf MMMs samples designated as M0 to M7, each with independent formulations, were prepared and investigated for their respective density, porosity, and degree of AA retention. Morphology analysis through scanning electron microscopy elucidated sample M7 (PSf/TiO2/PEG 6000) to have the highest density and porosity among all samples with concomitant highest AA retention at approximately 92.2%. The application of the concentration polarization method further supported this finding by the higher concentration of AA solute present on the surface of the membrane compared to that of AA feed for sample M7. Overall, this study successfully demonstrates the significance of TiO2 and PEG as high MW additives in improving PSf MMM performance.