Optimizing Physical Factors for the Ammonium Removal from Wastewater Using Bio-Electrochemical Systems

Aparna Sharma, Anup Gurung, Syed Ejaz Hussain Mehdi, Suleman Shahzad, Fida Hussain (), Woochang Kang, Sandesh Pandey, Aqib Hassan Ali Khan and Sang-Eun Oh ()
Additional contact information
Aparna Sharma: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-2-dong, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Anup Gurung: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-2-dong, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Syed Ejaz Hussain Mehdi: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-2-dong, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Suleman Shahzad: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-2-dong, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Fida Hussain: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-2-dong, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Woochang Kang: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-2-dong, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Sandesh Pandey: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-2-dong, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Aqib Hassan Ali Khan: International Research Center in Critical Raw Materials and Advanced Industrial Technologies, Universidad de Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Sang-Eun Oh: Department of Biological Environment, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-2-dong, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: Waste streams, leachates, and wastewater often contain high-strength ammonia, which can be challenging to manage. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer a promising solution for treating such a nuisance of high-strength ammonia. However, optimizing MFC operating conditions, at lower technology readiness levels, is crucial to achieve a sustainable and economically viable application. This study investigates the factors affecting ammonia nitrogen removal in MFCs. MFCs with a cation exchange membrane (CEM) exhibit a higher diffusion rate of ammonium ions from the anode to the cathode compared to those with a proton exchange membrane (PEM). In close circuit mode (CCM), MFCs with a Pt-coated cathode electrode achieved an ammonium removal efficiency of 96% in the cathode chamber. Moreover, a plain carbon cathode electrode yielded an 87.1% removal efficiency. These results indicate that the combination of a catalyst (Pt) and oxygen in the cathode chamber can effectively remove or recover ammonia nitrogen from wastewater. Simultaneously, the removal of ammonia nitrogen in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) was studied. At an applied potential of 1.0 V, an ammonium removal efficiency of 87.5% was achieved. It was concluded that ammonium losses in MFCs can occur through electron migration, volatilization, and biological processes such as nitrification and denitrification.

Keywords: ammonium; diffusion; microbial fuel cells; microbial electrolysis cells; nitrogen removal; power generation; wastewater (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/6/2543/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/6/2543/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:6:p:2543-:d:1611863

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().