Proficient Sanitary Wastewater Treatment in Laboratory and Field-Scale Microbial Fuel Cell with Anti-Biofouling Cu _0.5 Mn _0.5 Fe ₂ O ₄ as Cathode Catalyst

For successful field-scale application of microbial fuel cell (MFC), the power recovery from field-scale MFC needs to be improved considerably with simultaneous reduction in its fabrication cost. These problems can be addressed by applying low-cost and efficient cathode catalyst in MFCs. In this regard, Cu _0.5 Mn _0.5 Fe ₂ O ₄ (CuMnFe) was synthesized and applied as cathode catalyst in lab and field-scale MFCs with capacity of 150 ml and 25 l, respectively. Lab-scale MFC having CuMnFe as cathode catalyst demonstrated power density of 176.0 ± 8.2 mW m ⁻² , which was competitive with MFC having Pt as cathode catalyst (183.0 ± 12.6 mW m ⁻² ) and it was about seven times higher than control MFC (25.5 ± 4.5 mW m ⁻² ) having no catalyst. Application of CuMnFe as cathode catalyst in field-scale MFC produced power density of 7.74 mW m ⁻² , which was three-times higher than the power produced by the field-scale MFC operated without any cathode catalyst (2.58 mW m ⁻² ). The cathode catalyst CuMnFe also demonstrated excellent anti-biofouling properties, which in turn improved the power production of field-scale MFC. Therefore, low-cost CuMnFe can be anticipated as an efficacious cathode catalyst for application in MFCs that would produce long term stable higher power, while offering simultaneous treatment to wastewater.