Simultaneous electricity generation and tetracycline removal in continuous flow electrosorption driven by microbial fuel cells

Abstract

A novel continuous flow electrosorption driven by microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was developed for the first time to remove tetracycline, the second most commonly used antibiotic, from synthetic wastewater. The MFC-sorption proved to be cost-effective without any external power consumption. Various operating parameters including pH, electrolyte concentration, initial concentration of tetracycline, number of MFCs connected in series and flow rate were investigated, and the adsorption kinetics of tetracycline removal were studied. Three MFCs connected in series in the continuous flow MFC-sorption system reached an adsorption capacity of 23.12 mg g⁻¹, higher than that with two MFCs (16.76 mg g⁻¹) and that with only one MFC (14.16 mg g⁻¹). The performance was compared with that in the batch mode, and it was confirmed that the continuous flow was practical for tetracycline removal. This work confirmed that continuous flow electrosorption driven by MFCs was cost-effective and an environmentally friendly removal of tetracycline.