Shabangu Khaya Pearlman, Chetty Manimagalay, Bakare Babatunde Femi
Green Engineering & Sustainability Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Steve Biko Campus, S3 L3, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa.
Environmental Pollution and Remediation Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Mangosuthu University of Technology, P.O. Box 12363, Jacobs 4062, South Africa.
Bioengineering (Basel). 2025 Jan 19;12(1):88. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering12010088.
This study evaluates the potential of biorefinery and dairy wastewater as substrates for electricity generation in double chamber Microbial Fuel Cells (DCMFC), focusing on their microbial taxonomy and electrochemical viability. Taxonomic analysis using 16S/18S rDNA-targeted DGGE and high-throughput sequencing identified Proteobacteria as dominant in biorefinery biomass, followed by Firmicutes and Bacteriodota. In dairy biomass, Lactobacillus (77.36%) and Clostridium (15.70%) were most prevalent. Biorefinery wastewater exhibited the highest bioelectrochemical viability due to its superior electrical conductivity and salinity, achieving a voltage yield of 65 mV, compared to 75.2 mV from mixed substrates and 1.7 mV from dairy wastewater. Elevated phosphate levels in dairy wastewater inhibited bioelectrochemical processes. This study recommends Biorefinery wastewater as the most suitable purely organic substrate for efficient bioelectricity generation and scaling up of MFCs, emphasising the importance of substrate selection for optimal energy output for practical and commercial viability.
本研究评估了生物炼制废水和乳制品废水作为双室微生物燃料电池（DCMFC）发电底物的潜力，重点关注其微生物分类和电化学可行性。使用靶向16S/18S rDNA的DGGE和高通量测序进行的分类分析表明，变形菌门在生物炼制生物质中占主导地位，其次是厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门。在乳制品生物质中，乳酸杆菌（77.36%）和梭菌（15.70%）最为普遍。生物炼制废水因其卓越的电导率和盐度而表现出最高的生物电化学可行性，实现了65 mV的电压产量，相比之下，混合底物的电压产量为75.2 mV，乳制品废水的电压产量为1.7 mV。乳制品废水中升高的磷酸盐水平抑制了生物电化学过程。本研究推荐生物炼制废水作为最适合高效生物发电和扩大微生物燃料电池规模的纯有机底物，强调了底物选择对于实现实际和商业可行性的最佳能量输出的重要性。
