Powering microbial electrolysis cells by electricity generation from simulated waste heat of anaerobic digesters using thermoelectric generators |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Xi''an Jiaotong University, Xi''an, Shanxi 710049, China;2. Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA |
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Abstract: | Waste heat from anaerobic digesters can be converted to electricity by using thermoelectric generators (TEG). Herein, such energy was employed to power a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) for producing hydrogen gas. Four TEG units could deliver a voltage of ~0.5 V, sufficient to drive the MEC that achieved a hydrogen production rate of 0.48 ± 0.13 m3 m−3 d−1. This rate was further improved to 0.75 ± 0.05 m3 m−3 d−1 when the temperature difference for TEG was increased from 18 to 28 °C. There was no significant difference between the TEG-powered MEC and power supply-supported MEC (at 0.6 V), in terms of current generation, hydrogen production, and organic removal. Ambient air was also studied as a cold-side source for TEG, although some challenges were encountered to maintain a large temperature difference. Those results will encourage further exploration of using TEG as a feasible power supply for sustainable MEC operation. |
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Keywords: | Waste heat Anaerobic digester Thermoelectric generator Microbial electrolysis cell Hydrogen |
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