Production of electricity from proteins using a microbial fuel cell

Electricity generation was examined from proteins and a protein-rich wastewater using a single chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC). The maximum power densities achieved were 354 ± 10 mW/m² using bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 269 ± 14 mW/m² using peptone (1100 mg/L BSA and 300 mg/L peptone). The recovery of organic matter as electricity, defined as the Coulombic efficiency (CE), was comparable to that obtained with other substrates with CE = 20.6% for BSA and CE = 6.0% for peptone. A meat packing wastewater (MPW), diluted to 1420 mg/L chemical oxygen demand, produced 80 ± 1 mW/m², and power was increased by 33% by adding salt (300 mg/L sodium chloride) to increase solution conductivity. A wastewater inoculum generated 33% less power than the MPW inoculum. The MFC was an effective method of wastewater treatment, demonstrated by > 86% of biochemical oxygen demand and total organic carbon removal from wastewater.