Abstract
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a quite interesting technology in the field of wastewater treatment because that direct recovery of electrical energy is possible along with treatment. The one of issues on MFC reactor is the characteristics and performance of ion-exchange membrane between anode and cathode. In this study, MFC performance and bacterial community were investigated using three types of ion-exchange membranes by sequential batch experiments. Maximum voltages were obtained at the same level in all the MFC reactors using two proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) and a conventional cation-exchange membrane (CEM). Coulombic efficiency was also comparable between them although it was slightly higher in the reactor with CEM than PEMs. A little difference was observed in bacterial community of the biomass on anodic electrode between each MFC reactor and contribution of Lactococcus species to MFC performance was suggested in this study.
