Qingyun Ping

Mathematical Model of Dynamic Behavior of Microbial Desalination Cells for Simultaneous Wastewater Treatment and Water Desalination

Microbial desalination cells (MDCs) are an emerging concept for simultaneous wastewater treatment and water desalination. This work presents a mathematical model to simulate dynamic behavior of MDCs for the first time through evaluating multiple factors such as organic supply, salt loading, and current generation. Ordinary differential equations were applied to describe the substrate as well as bacterial concentrations in the anode compartment. Local sensitivity analysis was employed to select model parameters that needed to be re-estimated from the previous studies. This model was validated by experimental data from both a bench- and a large-scale MDC system. It could fit current generation fairly well and simulate the change of salt concentration. It was able to predict the response of the MDC with time under various conditions, and also provide information for analyzing the effects of different operating conditions. Furthermore, optimal operating conditions for the MDC used in this study were estimated to have an acetate flow rate of 0.8 mL·min(-1), influent salt concentration of 15 g·L(-1) and salt solution flow rate of 0.04 mL·min(-1), and to be operated with an external resistor less than 30 Ω. The MDC model will be helpful with determining operational parameters to achieve optimal desalination in MDCs.

Integrated experimental investigation and mathematical modeling of brackish water desalination and wastewater treatment in microbial desalination cells.

Desalination of brackish water can provide freshwater for potable use or non potable applications such as agricultural irrigation. Brackish water desalination is especially attractive to microbial desalination cells (MDCs) because of its low salinity, but this has not been well studied before. Herein, three brackish waters prepared according to the compositions of actual brackish water in three locations in Israel were examined with domestic wastewater as an electron source in a bench-scale MDC. All three brackish waters could be effectively desalinated with simultaneous wastewater treatment. The MDC achieved the highest salt removal rate of 1.2 g L(-1) d(-1) with an initial salinity of 5.9 g L(-1) and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 0.8 d. The desalinated brackish water could meet the irrigation standard of both salinity (450 mg L(-1) TDS) and the concentrations of major ionic species, given a sufficient HRT. The MDC also accomplished nearly 70% removal of organic compounds in wastewater with Coulombic efficiency varied between 5 and 10%. A previously developed MDC model was improved for brackish water desalination, and could well predict salinity variation and the concentrations of individual ions. The model also simulated a staged operation mode with improved desalination performance. This integrated experiment and mathematical modeling approach provides an effective method to understand the key factors in brackish water desalination by MDCs towards further system development.

Improving the flexibility of microbial desalination cells through spatially decoupling anode and cathode

To improve the flexibility of microbial desalination cell (MDC) construction and operation, a new configuration with decoupled anode and cathode was developed and examined in this study. A higher salt concentration resulted in higher current generation, as well as a higher salt removal rate. The effect of the distance between the anode and the cathode on the MDC performance was not obvious, likely due to a sufficient conductivity in the salt solution. Because the cathode was identified as a limiting factor, adding one more cathode unit increased the current generation from 72.3 to 116.0 A/m(3), while installing additional anode units did not obviously alter the MDC current production. Changing the position of the anode/cathode units exhibited a weak influence on the MDC performance. Parallel connection of electrical circuits generally produced more current than the individual connections, and a strong competition was observed between multiple units sharing the same opposite unit.

Effects of inter-membrane distance and hydraulic retention time on the desalination performance of microbial desalination cells

ABSTRACTMicrobial desalination cell (MDC) is a promising technology for simultaneous water desalination and wastewater treatment. To further understand the factors that affect MDC performance, we investigated the complementary roles of inter-membrane distance and hydraulic retention time (HRT) in desalination by a bench-scale MDC. When the inter-membrane distance was changed from 2.5 to 0.3 cm while maintaining the same influent flow rate, the HRT of the salt solution decreased; the desalination efficiency reached a maximum at 0.5 cm distance with 10 g/L salt concentration or at 2.5 cm distance with 30 g/L. The rate of salt removal was clearly improved at a shorter inter-membrane distance. The MDC with an inter-membrane distance of 0.3 cm achieved a specific desalination rate twelve or seven times higher than that with 2.5 cm at an initial salt concentration of 10 or 30 g/L. At the same inter-membrane distance of 1.0 cm, a greater HRT led to better desalination efficiency. While at the same HRT of 6 h, th...

Understanding electricity generation in osmotic microbial fuel cells through integrated experimental investigation and mathematical modeling.

Osmotic microbial fuel cells (OsMFCs) are a new type of MFCs with integrating forward osmosis (FO). However, it is not well understood why electricity generation is improved in OsMFCs compared to regular MFCs. Herein, an approach integrating experimental investigation and mathematical model was adopted to address the question. Both an OsMFC and an MFC achieved similar organic removal efficiency, but the OsMFC generated higher current than the MFC with or without water flux, resulting from the lower resistance of FO membrane. Combining NaCl and glucose as a catholyte demonstrated that the catholyte conductivity affected the electricity generation in the OsMFC. A mathematical model of OsMFCs was developed and validated with the experimental data. The model predicated the variation of internal resistance with increasing water flux, and confirmed the importance of membrane resistance. Increasing water flux with higher catholyte conductivity could decrease the membrane resistance.

Mathematical modeling based evaluation and simulation of boron removal in bioelectrochemical systems.

Boron removal is an arising issue in desalination plants due to borons toxicity. As an emerging treatment concept, bioelectrochemical systems (BES) can achieve potentially cost-effective boron removal by taking advantage of cathodic-produced alkali. Prior studies have demonstrated successful removal of boron in microbial desalination cells (MDCs) and microbial fuel cells (MFCs), both of which are representative BES. Herein, mathematical models were developed to further evaluate boron removal by different BES and understand the key operating factors. The models delivered very good prediction of the boron concentration in the MDC integrated with Donnan Dialysis (DD) system with the lowest relative root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.00%; the predication of the MFC performance generated the highest RMSE of 18.55%. The model results of salt concentration, solution pH, and current generation were well fitted with experimental data for RMSE values mostly below 10%. The long term simulation of the MDC-DD system suggests that the accumulation of salt in the catholyte/stripping solution could have a positive impact on the removal of boron due to osmosis-driven convection. The current generation in the MDC may have little influence on the boron removal, while in the MFC the current-driven electromigration can contribute up to 40% of boron removal. Osmosis-induced convection transport of boron could be the major driving force for boron removal to a low level <2mgL(-1). The ratio between the anolyte and the catholyte flow rates should be kept >22.2 in order to avoid boron accumulation in the anolyte effluent.