Research Projects

The study aims to develop a CW-MFC system for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated waste water with simultaneous power generation. The proposed system will use metal-resistant wetlands plants like Typha, Vetiver, and Cypress for construction. Exo-electrogenic bacteria and heavy metal-resistant bacteria will be used as biocatalysts at the anode and cathode. The system will be operated on heavy metal-contaminated industrial waste-water, assessing its heavy metal removal potential and power generation. Heavy metal accumulation and adsorption will be studied by plants and microbes, and metal speciation will be studied in the MFC-CW reactor. The microbial community diversity of the anode and cathode will be studied using a metagenomic approach, examining its influence on heavy metal removal and electricity generation. The research aims to develop an eco-friendly, energy-efficient, integrated technology based on CW-MFC for heavy metal heavy metal contaminated waste-water treatment and simultaneous energy generation. The technology will reduce the power requirement for waste-water treatment, which consumes a significant fraction of the overall economic input in an industry. The design may also be applied to other industrial waste-water containing organic pollutants like pesticides, PAHs, PCBs, and dyes.