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http://dx.doi.org/10.4491/KSEE.2015.37.12.682

Influence of Electrode Spacing on Methane Production in Microbial Electrolysis Cell Fed with Sewage Sludge  

Im, Seongwon (Department of Environmental Engineering, Green Technology Institute, Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology)
Ahn, Yongtae (Department of Energy Engineering, Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology)
Chung, Jae-Woo (Department of Environmental Engineering, Green Technology Institute, Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology)
Publication Information
Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers / v.37, no.12, 2015 , pp. 682-688 More about this Journal
Abstract
Effect of electrode spacing on the performance of microbial electrolysis cells(MECs) for treating sewage sludge was investigated through lab scale experiment. The reactors were equipped with two pairs of electrodes that have a different electrode spacing (16, 32 mm). Shorter electrode distance improved the overall performance of MEC system. With the 16 mm of electrode distance, the current density was $3.04{\sim}3.74A/m^3$ and methane production was $0.616{\sim}0.804Nm^3/m^3$, which were higher than those obtained with 32 mm of electrode spacing ($1.50{\sim}1.82A/m^3$, $0.529{\sim}0.664Nm^3/m^3$). The COD removal was in the range of 34~40%, and the VSS reduction ranged 32~38%. As the current production increased, VSS reduction and methane production were increased possibly due to the improved bioelectrochemical performance of the system. Methane production was more affected by current density than VSS reduction. These results imply that the reducing the electrode spacing can enhance the methane production and recovery from sewage sludge with the decreased internal resistance, however, it was not able to improve VSS reduction of sewage sludge.
Keywords
Microbial Electrolysis Cell; Electrode Spacing; Sewage Sludge; Methane Production; Organic Matter Reduction;
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