Carbon Neutral Electricity Production from Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Leachate Using Algal-Assisted Microbial Fuel Cell

We demonstrate the feasibility of algal lipid production and bioelectricity generation with concurrent treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) leachate in a double-chamber algal-assisted microbial fuel cell (AAMFC). The cathode chamber was loaded with Synechococcus sp. and MSW leachate whereas anode chamber was loaded with anaerobic microflora. While treating 50% MSW leachate, highest power density (95.63 mW/m), current density (2.48 A/m), and biomass concentration (2.54 g/l) were observed. The algal growth in the cathode chamber increased the oxygen concentration from 5.5 to 8.6 mg/l. Secondly, we studied the influence of salinity in AAMFC performance. The addition of 30 mM NaCl with 50% leachate increased the power and current density to 110.92 mW/m and 5.169 A/m, respectively. It also increased the biomass concentration, protein, and lipid content. The analysis of fatty acid profile of algae confirmed the presence of palmitic acid, stearic acid, and linoleic acid. The proposed technique is effective for concurrent treatment of MSW leachate and power generation besides algal lipid production without external aeration.