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Electricity and fertiliser production using microbial fuel cell stacks for possible integration with hydroponics

Electricity and fertiliser production using microbial fuel cell stacks for possible integration with hydroponics
Electricity and fertiliser production using microbial fuel cell stacks for possible integration with hydroponics
Sewage management and sanitation are global concerns, especially in urban areas due to lack of treatment infrastructure. Here, we stacked 40 ceramic microbial fuel cells in two plastic trays (MFC tray-1 and MFC tray-2) to produce both electricity and liquid fertiliser directly from raw sewage. MFC tray-1 and MFC tray-2 produced power of up to 21.78 mW and 18.89 mW, respectively, with synthetic urine. Maximum power output values were 19.1 mW (63.82 mA) and 14.9 (56.38 mA) for sewage-fed MFC tray-1 and MFC tray-2, respectively. Therefore, each ceramic MFC unit in both trays achieved a power performance of up to 1.02 mW and 0.85 mW with synthetic urine and raw sewage, respectively. The rate of catholyte (fertiliser) production in each MFC tray was 1.2 L of catholyte/48 h from 2.5 L of feedstock. The catholyte from sewage-fed MFCs has been observed to have antimicrobial properties, and it is composed of NO3−, PO4−2, and K+ at concentrations of 25 ± 1 [mg/kg], 9 ± 3 [mg/kg], and 95 ± 14 [mg/kg], respectively. Ceramic-microbial fuel cell stacks therefore efficiently harness electricity and produce liquid fertiliser from sewage, offering seamless integration with hydroponics to grow vegetables in a self-powered, hygienic, and sustainable manner.
Ceramic microbial fuel cell, Electricity, Electroosmotic, Liquid fertiliser, Sewage
0378-7753
Nath, Dibyojyoty
49f9c27b-09ac-45da-b4e0-f5cabeb61c9a
Ieropoulos, Ioannis Andrea
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Nath, Dibyojyoty
49f9c27b-09ac-45da-b4e0-f5cabeb61c9a
Ieropoulos, Ioannis Andrea
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13

Nath, Dibyojyoty and Ieropoulos, Ioannis Andrea (2025) Electricity and fertiliser production using microbial fuel cell stacks for possible integration with hydroponics. Journal of Power Sources, 652, [237546]. (doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.237546).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Sewage management and sanitation are global concerns, especially in urban areas due to lack of treatment infrastructure. Here, we stacked 40 ceramic microbial fuel cells in two plastic trays (MFC tray-1 and MFC tray-2) to produce both electricity and liquid fertiliser directly from raw sewage. MFC tray-1 and MFC tray-2 produced power of up to 21.78 mW and 18.89 mW, respectively, with synthetic urine. Maximum power output values were 19.1 mW (63.82 mA) and 14.9 (56.38 mA) for sewage-fed MFC tray-1 and MFC tray-2, respectively. Therefore, each ceramic MFC unit in both trays achieved a power performance of up to 1.02 mW and 0.85 mW with synthetic urine and raw sewage, respectively. The rate of catholyte (fertiliser) production in each MFC tray was 1.2 L of catholyte/48 h from 2.5 L of feedstock. The catholyte from sewage-fed MFCs has been observed to have antimicrobial properties, and it is composed of NO3−, PO4−2, and K+ at concentrations of 25 ± 1 [mg/kg], 9 ± 3 [mg/kg], and 95 ± 14 [mg/kg], respectively. Ceramic-microbial fuel cell stacks therefore efficiently harness electricity and produce liquid fertiliser from sewage, offering seamless integration with hydroponics to grow vegetables in a self-powered, hygienic, and sustainable manner.

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Electricity and fertiliser production using microbial fuel cell stacks for possible integration with hydroponics
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Accepted/In Press date: 1 June 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 11 June 2025
Published date: 11 June 2025
Keywords: Ceramic microbial fuel cell, Electricity, Electroosmotic, Liquid fertiliser, Sewage

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 503167
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503167
ISSN: 0378-7753
PURE UUID: b1962e19-f347-4aa3-b539-cd707182904a
ORCID for Ioannis Andrea Ieropoulos: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9641-5504

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Date deposited: 23 Jul 2025 16:32
Last modified: 20 Sep 2025 02:17

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Author: Dibyojyoty Nath

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