Toxicity detection in water containing heavy metal ions with a self-powered microbial fuel cell-based biosensor

In this work, a self-powered microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based biosensor was developed for detecting toxicity in water containing heavy metal ions. Experimental conditions containing concentration of potassium ferricyanide, load resistor and glucose concentration were optimized. Six heavy metal ions (2 mg/L, Cu2+, Hg2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+ and Cr3+) were tested by this biosensor and the inhibition ratios obtained were 12.56%, 13.99%, 8.81%, 9.29%, 5.59% and 1.95%, respectively. The inhibition ratios of 28.13% was also obtained for detecting the laboratory wastewater containing several heavy metal ions. The experimental results exhibited the feasibility and potential of the self-powered biosensor in detecting toxicities in water containing heavy metal ions.