EVALUATION OF ELECTROACTIVITY OF A LOCAL BACTERIAL ISOLATE FROM LAUNDRY WASTE WATER
Abstract
This study investigated the possibility of using the laundry wastewater in the generation of bioelectricity by microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology. The voltage output of the laundry wastewater was observed throughout a period of ten days whereby the electrical output rose to 691 mV on day 1, and a peak of 1420 mV on day 8 after which the electrical output decreased slightly to 1406 mV on day 10. The microbial count of 2.0 × 103 CFU/mL indicated that the bacteriology test contained bacteria that can withstand the presence of detergent rich environment. According to the culture peculiarities, the biochemical tests, and Gram staining, the isolate turned out to be Staphylococcus species, a Gram-positive cocci with catalase and coagulase activity. When the isolate was reinoculated into the sterile laundry wastewater system, the electroactive nature of the organism was confirmed by the increase of open circuit voltage (OCV) to 1207 mV on day 5 as compared to 789 mV on day 1. The findings show that laundry wastewater could be efficiently used as a microbial electricity source, which is an environmentally friendly way of domestic wastewater treatment and at the same time generates renewable energy.
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