Efficacy and Mechanism of Temperature-Regulated ECT-MFC for Heavy Metal Removal from Mine Water

Abstract

Nowadays sustainable development has gained widespread attention, making people pay more attention to water pollution problems. However, fast industrial development makes water pollution increasingly serious, especially heavy metal pollution in water. Traditional wastewater treatment methods cost much to operate and often produce secondary pollution with poor removal results. Microbial fuel cells can recycle electricity while cleaning sewage, so they have obvious comprehensive advantages. We applied a modified eight-chamber ECT-MFC to treat composite heavy metal wastewater in this test, and the device maintained stable operation and great treatment performance. Temperature controls microbial metabolism and electrode reaction efficiency, which largely changes the overall removal effect. Test results show low temperatures strongly inhibit system reactions; high temperatures raise the initial removal speed but damage microbial activity and cut treatment efficiency after long-term running. The study confirmed that the optimal synergistic effect of reactions occurs under medium-temperature conditions (30°C), and these findings can provide a reference for temperature control in practical equipment applications.By comparing all test working conditions, medium temperature provides the optimum reaction synergy and counts as the best running temperature for the reactor, and all conclusions from this research can offer practical support for field temperature control of such devices.