Abstract Microbial fuel cell (MFC) and nano sized membrane bioreactor (NSMBR) are both promising technologies for wastewater treatment in pharmaceutical company, but both with limitations. In this study, a novel MFC–MBR integrated system, which combines the advantages of the individual systems, was proposed for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy recovery. A new hybrid, air-bio cathode microbial fuel cell nano sized membrane bioreactor (MFC-MBR) system was developed to achieve simultaneous wastewater treatment and ultrafiltration to produce water for direct reclamation. The combined advantages of this system were achieved by using an electrically conductive ultrafiltration membrane as both the cathode and the membrane for wastewater filtration. In this study, an integrated MFC–MBR system was demonstrated to favor low-cost and efficient wastewater treatment and power generation. The nano sized membrane bioreactor (NSMBR) was used to guarantee the effluent quality and to provide a low-cost and effective bio-cathode for MFC, while the MFC promises an energy offset to the overall treatment process. An average current of 1.9 ± 0.4 mA was generated over a long period of about 40 days. The maximum power density reached 6.0Wm3. In addition, cost-effective materials were adopted for the system construction, suggesting a high economical attractiveness and practical applicability of this system. However, the nitrogen removal was limited due to the negative surface charge of the thin-film composite membrane and solution chemistry, which led to higher flux of ammonium toward the OMBR draw solution. This study reveals synergy between MFCs and OMBRs for sustainable wastewater treatment and energy production. This integrated system shows great promise for practical wastewater treatment application.
Keywords Microbial fuel cell (MFC), Nano sized membrane bioreactor (NSMBR), Bio-cathode, Microbial fuel cell, Osmotic nano sized membrane bioreactor.