Electricity generation with simultaneous wastewater treatment by a microbial fuel cell (MFC) with Cu and Cu-Au electrodes

BACKGROUND: A microbial fuel cell (MFC) consisting of anaerobic and aerobic chambers separated by a salt-agar slab was used for electricity generation with simultaneous wastewater treatment where copper and gold covered copper wires were used as anode and cathode, respectively. The electrons produced from degradation of carbohydrates in anaerobic chamber traveled through the copper wire generating electricity and the protons were transferred from cathode to anode through the salt-agar slab. Variation of the current intensity (mA) and the electrical power (mW) were investigated as function of the surface area of anode and also the chemical oxygen demand (COD) content of the synthetic wastewater