Enhanced power generation and energy conversion of sewage sludge by CEA–microbial fuel cells

Abstract The production of methane from sewage sludge through the use of anaerobic digestion has been able to effectively offset energy costs for wastewater treatment. However, significant energy reserves are left unrecovered and effluent standards are not met necessitating secondary processes such as aeration. In the current study a novel cloth-electrode assembly microbial fuel cell (CEA–MFC) was used to generate electricity from sewage sludge. Fermentation pretreatment of the sludge effectively increased the COD of the supernatant and improved reactor performance. Using the CEA–MFC design, a maximum power density of 1200 mW m −2 was reached after a fermentation pre-treatment time of 96 h. This power density represents a 275% increase over those previously observed in MFC systems. Results indicate continued improvements are possible and MFCs may be a viable modification to existing wastewater treatment infrastructure.