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Jiang J, Lopez-Ruiz JA, Bian Y, Sun D, Yan Y, Chen X, Zhu J, May HD, Ren ZJ. Scale-up and techno-economic analysis of microbial electrolysis cells for hydrogen production from wastewater. WATER RESEARCH 2023; 241:120139. [PMID: 37270949 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) have demonstrated high-rate H2 production while concurrently treating wastewater, but the transition in scale from laboratory research to systems that can be practically applied has encountered challenges. It has been more than a decade since the first pilot-scale MEC was reported, and in recent years, many attempts have been made to overcome the barriers and move the technology to the market. This study provided a detailed analysis of MEC scale-up efforts and summarized the key factors that should be considered to further develop the technology. We compared the major scale-up configurations and systematically evaluated their performance from both technical and economic perspectives. We characterized how system scale-up impacts the key performance metrics such as volumetric current density and H2 production rate, and we proposed methods to evaluate and optimize system design and fabrication. In addition, preliminary techno-economic analysis indicates that MECs can be profitable in many different market scenarios with or without subsidies. We also provide perspectives on future development needed to transition MEC technology to the marketplace.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinyue Jiang
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Juan A Lopez-Ruiz
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Institute for Integrated Catalysis, Energy and Environment Directorate, 902 Battelle Blvd., Richland, WA 99352, USA
| | - Yanhong Bian
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Dongya Sun
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Yuqing Yan
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Xi Chen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Junjie Zhu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Harold D May
- The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Zhiyong Jason Ren
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
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Li Z, Fu Q, Su H, Yang W, Chen H, Zhang B, Hua L, Xu Q. Model development of bioelectrochemical systems: A critical review from the perspective of physiochemical principles and mathematical methods. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 226:119311. [PMID: 36369684 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.119311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are promising devices for wastewater treatment and bio-energy production. Since various processes are interacted and affect the overall performance of the device, the development of theoretical modeling is an efficient approach to understand the fundamental mechanisms that govern the performance of the BES. This review aims to summarize the physiochemical principle and mathematical method in BES models, which is of great importance for the establishment of an accurate model while has received little attention in previous reviews. In this review, we begin with a classification of existing models including bioelectrochemical models, electronic models, and machine learning models. Subsequently, physiochemical principles and mathematical methods in models are discussed from two aspects: one is the description of methodology how to build a framework for models, and the other is to further review additional methods that can enrich model functions. Finally, the advantages/disadvantages, extended applications, and perspectives of models are discussed. It is expected that this review can provide a viewpoint from methodologies to understand BES models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuo Li
- Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, PR China; Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education of China, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, PR China
| | - Qian Fu
- Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education of China, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, PR China
| | - Huaneng Su
- Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, PR China
| | - Wei Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, College of Water Resource & Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, PR China
| | - Hao Chen
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, PR China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, PR China
| | - Lun Hua
- Tsinghua University Suzhou Automotive Research Institute, Suzhou, 215200, PR China
| | - Qian Xu
- Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, PR China.
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3
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A Catalytic Effectiveness Factor for a Microbial Electrolysis Cell Biofilm Model. ENERGIES 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/en15114179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this work is to propose a methodology to obtain an effectiveness factor for biofilm in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) system and use it to reduce a partial differential equation (PDE) biofilm MEC model to an ordinary differential equation (ODE) MEC model. The biofilm mass balances of the different species are considered. In addition, it is considered that all the involved microorganisms are attached to the anodic biological film. Three effectiveness factors are obtained from partial differential equations describing the spatial distributions of potential and substrate in the biofilm. Then, a model reduction is carried out using the global mass balances of the different species in the system. The reduced model with three uncertain but bounded effectiveness factors is evaluated numerically and analyzed in the sense of stability and parametric sensibility to demonstrate its applicability. The reduced ODE model is compared with a validated model taken from the literature, and the results are in good agreement. The biofilm effectiveness factor in MEC systems can be extended to the reduction of PDE models to obtain ODE models that are commonly used in optimization and control problems.
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Huang P, Tao H, Yang J, Lian C, Liu H. Four
stages of thermal effect coupled with ion‐charge transports during the charging process of porous electrodes. AIChE J 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/aic.17790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Pan Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai People's Republic of China
| | - Haolan Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Yang
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai People's Republic of China
| | - Cheng Lian
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai People's Republic of China
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai People's Republic of China
| | - Honglai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Chemical Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai People's Republic of China
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai People's Republic of China
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Day JR, Heidrich ES, Wood TS. A scalable model of fluid flow, substrate removal and current production in microbial fuel cells. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 291:132686. [PMID: 34740702 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Mathematical modelling can reduce the cost and time required to design complex systems, and is being increasingly used in microbial electrochemical technologies (METs). To be of value such models must be complex enough to reproduce important behaviour of MET, yet simple enough to provide insight into underlying causes of this behaviour. Ideally, models must also be scalable to future industrial applications, rather than limited to describing existing laboratory experiments. We present a scalable model for simulating both fluid flow and bioelectrochemical processes in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), benchmarking against an experimental pilot-scale bioreactor. The model describes substrate transport through a two-dimensional fluid domain, and biofilm growth on anode surfaces. Electron transfer is achieved by an intracellular redox mediator. We find significant spatial variations in both substrate concentration and current density. Simple changes to the reactor layout can greatly improve the overall efficiency, measured in terms of substrate removal and total current generated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan R Day
- Newcastle University, School of Engineering, NE1 7RU, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
| | | | - Toby S Wood
- Newcastle University, School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, NE17RU, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
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