Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes–Coated Graphite-Felt Anode for Efficient Removal of Ciprofloxacin from Domestic Wastewater in Dual-Chambered Microbial Fuel Cells | Journal of Environmental Engineering | Vol 148, No 6

AbstractMicrobial fuel cells (MFCs) are potential bioelectrochemical devices that are now being researched for various emerging applications, such as treating wastewater with antibiotics removal. Ciprofloxacin (CIP) is a synthetic antibiotic that is commonly used to treat infections such as pneumonia and influenza. This work investigated the performance of dual-chambered MFCs with two different types of anodes to remove CIP and chemical oxygen demand (COD) and power production. The findings of the experiments revealed that the multiwall carbon nanotubes-coated graphite felt (MWCNT-GF) had a higher power density (1,512.9  mW/m2) and COD removal (95.4%) than the control graphite-felt anode (816.3  mW/m2, COD removal 93.2%) under the same circumstances. Further, MFCs were also tested for four different concentrations with average CIP removal rate with MWCNT-coated GF anode to 58.575% and GF anode of 54.25%. Higher CIP removal rate and power performance of MWCNT-GF anodes are due to its macroporous structure, which promotes microbial interaction on the electrode surface. Also, it shows an additional effect of increasing extracellular electron transport. The findings suggest that a dual-chambered MFC operating with a MWCNT-GF anode is a highly effective means of achieving high power performance and CIP removal, with a broad range of application possibilities in bioelectrochemical systems.



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