Abstract
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is an important contributor to surface water pollution due to the release of acid and metals. Fe(II) in AMD reacts with dissolved oxygen to produce iron oxide precipitates, resulting in further acidification, discoloration of stream beds, and sludge deposits in receiving waters. It has recently been shown that new fuel cell technologies, based on microbial fuel cells, can be used to treat AMD and generate electricity. Here we show that this approach can also be used as a technique to generate spherical nano-particles of iron oxide that, upon drying, are transformed to goethite (α-FeOOH). This approach therefore provides a relatively straightforward way to generate a product that has commercial value. Particle diameters ranged from 120 to 700 nm, with sizes that could be controlled by varying the conditions in the fuel cell, especially current density (0.04-0.12 mA/cm2), pH (4-7.5), and initial Fe(II) concentration (50-1000 mg/L). The most efficient production of goethite and power occurred with pH = 6.3 and Fe(II) concentrations above 200 mg/L. These results show that fuel cell technologies can not only be used for simultaneous AMD treatment and power generation, but that they can generate useful products such as iron oxide particles having sizes appropriate for used as pigments and other applications.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 303-307 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Water Research |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2011 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Ecological Modeling
- Water Science and Technology
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Pollution
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Efficient recovery of nano-sized iron oxide particles from synthetic acid-mine drainage (AMD) water using fuel cell technologies. / Cheng, Shaoan; Jang, Je Hun; Dempsey, Brian A.; Logan, Bruce E.
In: Water Research, Vol. 45, No. 1, 01.2011, p. 303-307.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Efficient recovery of nano-sized iron oxide particles from synthetic acid-mine drainage (AMD) water using fuel cell technologies
AU - Cheng, Shaoan
AU - Jang, Je Hun
AU - Dempsey, Brian A.
AU - Logan, Bruce E.
PY - 2011/1
Y1 - 2011/1
N2 - Acid mine drainage (AMD) is an important contributor to surface water pollution due to the release of acid and metals. Fe(II) in AMD reacts with dissolved oxygen to produce iron oxide precipitates, resulting in further acidification, discoloration of stream beds, and sludge deposits in receiving waters. It has recently been shown that new fuel cell technologies, based on microbial fuel cells, can be used to treat AMD and generate electricity. Here we show that this approach can also be used as a technique to generate spherical nano-particles of iron oxide that, upon drying, are transformed to goethite (α-FeOOH). This approach therefore provides a relatively straightforward way to generate a product that has commercial value. Particle diameters ranged from 120 to 700 nm, with sizes that could be controlled by varying the conditions in the fuel cell, especially current density (0.04-0.12 mA/cm2), pH (4-7.5), and initial Fe(II) concentration (50-1000 mg/L). The most efficient production of goethite and power occurred with pH = 6.3 and Fe(II) concentrations above 200 mg/L. These results show that fuel cell technologies can not only be used for simultaneous AMD treatment and power generation, but that they can generate useful products such as iron oxide particles having sizes appropriate for used as pigments and other applications.
AB - Acid mine drainage (AMD) is an important contributor to surface water pollution due to the release of acid and metals. Fe(II) in AMD reacts with dissolved oxygen to produce iron oxide precipitates, resulting in further acidification, discoloration of stream beds, and sludge deposits in receiving waters. It has recently been shown that new fuel cell technologies, based on microbial fuel cells, can be used to treat AMD and generate electricity. Here we show that this approach can also be used as a technique to generate spherical nano-particles of iron oxide that, upon drying, are transformed to goethite (α-FeOOH). This approach therefore provides a relatively straightforward way to generate a product that has commercial value. Particle diameters ranged from 120 to 700 nm, with sizes that could be controlled by varying the conditions in the fuel cell, especially current density (0.04-0.12 mA/cm2), pH (4-7.5), and initial Fe(II) concentration (50-1000 mg/L). The most efficient production of goethite and power occurred with pH = 6.3 and Fe(II) concentrations above 200 mg/L. These results show that fuel cell technologies can not only be used for simultaneous AMD treatment and power generation, but that they can generate useful products such as iron oxide particles having sizes appropriate for used as pigments and other applications.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78649654330&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78649654330&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.watres.2010.07.054
DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2010.07.054
M3 - Article
C2 - 20701945
AN - SCOPUS:78649654330
VL - 45
SP - 303
EP - 307
JO - Water Research
JF - Water Research
SN - 0043-1354
IS - 1
ER -