International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—This study compares the use of Liquid Crystal coated Polaroid Glass Electrode (LCPGE) material collected from the disposed computer monitor and carbon cloth as electrodes in microbial fuel cell (MFC) for the simultaneous reduction/recovery of hexavalent chromium (Cr⁶⁺) from wastewater. The Cr⁶⁺ is bioelectrochemically reduced to the non-toxic Cr³⁺ form in the cathode chamber of a two-chambered MFC. At the cathode LCPGE interface, 100% of Cr⁶⁺ reduction was achieved within 48 h of operation. Similarly, using carbon cloth as cathode, 100 mg/L of Cr⁶⁺ was completely removed within 24 h (initial pH 2.0). In both the electrodes, the chromium was recovered as highly stable and non-toxic chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃). The recovered Cr₂O₃ was characterized by ATR-FTIR analysis. A maximum power density of 10 mW/m2 and 700.11 mW/m2 was achieved for the LCPGE and carbon cloth electrodes, respectively at ambient conditions. Moreover, 78% of organic carbon is mineralized at the anode chamber making this technology a more viable option for simultaneous chromium reduction and domestic wastewater treatment along with power production. Furthermore, the recovered Cr₂O₃ can be used as a raw material for various applications.

Index Terms—Carbon cloth, hexavalent chromium, e-waste, microbial fuel cell (MFC).

The authors are with the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras-600036, India (e-mail: praveenagangadharan85@gmail.com, indunambi@iitm.ac.in).

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Cite: Praveena Gangadharan and Indumathi M Nambi, "Feasibility Study of Disposed LCD Monitor and Carbon Cloth Electrodes for Synchronized Removal/Recovery of Cr⁶⁺ by Microbial Fuel Cells," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 8, no. 8, pp. 557-560, 2017.