The feasibility of ofloxacin degradation and electricity generation in photo-assisted microbial fuel cells with LiNbO3/CF photocatalytic cathode

A novel strategy to intensify the degradation of ofloxacin with simultaneous production of renewable electrical energy was achieved in photo-assisted microbial fuel cell with LiNbO3/CF photocatalytic cathode. The system exhibited a maximum open circuit potential and power output of 0.806 V and 0.546 W/m(2) respectively, with the calculated internal resistance of 340 Omega. Ofloxacin removal efficiencies were 86.5%, 81.2%, 76.1%, 70.2% at concentration of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 mmol/L, respectively. The performance of photo-MFC was confirmed by the high values of coulombic efficiency (E-c), fill factor (FF), mineralization current efficiency (MCE) as well as energy conversion recovery (epsilon(E)). Additionlly, the typical DMPO-OH and DMPO-O-center dot(2)- spectrum composed of quartet lines with the peak height ratio of 1:2:2:1 and 1:1:1:1 verified that center dot OH and O-center dot(2)- were the dominant active species for the cleavage of ofloxacin. Subsequently, a possible electron transfer mechanism was proposed. The integrated system is an excellent candidation for treatment of toxic refractory wastewater simultaneous with energy generation.