Removal of radioactive ions in low-concentration nuclear industry wastewater with carbon-felt based iron/magnesium/zirconium polycrystalline catalytic cathode in a dual-chamber microbial fuel cell

Recently, the treatment of nuclear industry wastewater has attracted much attention. However, due to the high energy consumption and low removal efficiency of the traditional treatment method, it is not suitable for the treatment of nuclear industry wastewater. Here, a dual-chamber Microbial fuel cell (MFC) with carbon-felt based Iron/Magnesium/Zirconium polycrystalline catalytic cathode is constructed to remove radioactive ions in low concentration nuclear industry wastewater. After biofilm formation on the anode surface, a steady voltage output of 0.8 V is recorded, and the dual-chamber microbial fuel cell obtains a maximum power density of 1.4 W m(-2) at the catholyte of pH 2, which is superior to Pt/C cathode. Moreover, the removal efficiency of the dual chamber microbial fuel cell for radioactive ions exceeds 80%, and the removal efficiency for lanthanum and cerium is over 98% at the ion concentration of 5 mg L-1. This low-cost and high-performance bioelectrochemical system (BES) called microbial fuel cells opens a new exploration door to remove radioactive ions in nuclear industry wastewater with electricity production.

Automated summary

In this study, a dual-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) with a carbon-felt based Iron/Magnesium/Zirconium polycrystalline catalytic cathode was constructed to remove radioactive ions in low concentration nuclear industry wastewater. The MFC showed a steady voltage output and a high removal efficiency for radioactive ions, allowing for electricity production while treating the wastewater.