Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (LEQUiA), Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, Campus Montilivi s/n, Facultat de Ciències, E-17071 Girona, Spain.
Environ Sci Technol. 2012 Feb 21;46(4):2309-15. doi: 10.1021/es2030609. Epub 2012 Feb 3.
The presence of elevated concentrations of nitrates in drinking water has become a serious concern worldwide. The use of autotrophic denitrification in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for waters with low ionic strengths (i.e., 1000 μS·cm(-1)) has not been considered previously. This study evaluated the feasibility of MFC technology for water denitification and also identified and quantified potential energy losses that result from their usage. The low conductivity (<1600 μS·cm(-1)) of water limited the nitrogen removal efficiency and power production of MFCs and led to the incomplete reduction of nitrate and the nitrous oxide (N(2)O) production (between 4 and 20% of nitrogen removed). Cathodic overpotential was identified as the main energy loss factors (83-90% of total losses). That high overpotential was influenced by denitrification intermediates (NO(2)(-) and N(2)O) and the potential used by microorganisms for growth, activation, and maintenance.
饮用水中硝酸盐浓度的升高已经成为全世界关注的一个严重问题。以前没有考虑过在微生物燃料电池 (MFC) 中利用自养反硝化作用来处理离子强度低的水（即 1000 μS·cm(-1)）。本研究评估了 MFC 技术用于水脱氮的可行性，并确定和量化了使用 MFC 技术所导致的潜在能量损失。水的低电导率（<1600 μS·cm(-1)) 限制了 MFC 的氮去除效率和产电量，导致硝酸盐和氧化亚氮 (N(2)O) 的不完全还原（去除的氮的 4-20%）。阴极过电势被确定为主要的能量损失因素（总损失的 83-90%）。这种高过电势受到反硝化中间产物（NO(2)(-) 和 N(2)O)和微生物用于生长、激活和维持的能量的影响。
