Performance evaluation of a hybrid system for efficient palm oil mill effluent treatment via an air-cathode, tubular upflow microbial fuel cell coupled with a granular activated carbon adsorption

An air-cathode MFC-adsorption hybrid system, made from earthen pot was designed and tested for simultaneous wastewater treatment and energy recovery. Such design had demonstrated superior characteristics of low internal resistance (29.3 O) and favor to low-cost, efficient wastewater treatment and power generation (55 mW/m3) with average current of 2.13 ± 0.4 mA. The performance between MFC-adsorption hybrid system was compared to the standalone adsorption system and results had demonstrated great pollutants removals of the integrated system especially for chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD3), total organic carbon (TOC), total volatile solids (TVS), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) and total nitrogen (TN) because such system combines the advantages of each individual unit. Besides the typical biological and electrochemical processes that happened in an MFC system, an additional physicochemical process from the activated carbon took place simultaneously in the MFC-adsorption hybrid system which would further improved on the wastewater quality

Bio-energy generation in an affordable, single-chamber microbial fuel cell integrated with adsorption hybrid system: effects of temperature and comparison study

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) integrated with adsorption system (MFC-AHS) is tested under various operating temperatures with palm oil mill effluent as the substrate. The optimum operating temperature for such system is found to be at ∼35°C with current, power density, internal resistance (Rin), Coulombic efficiency (CE) and maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 2.51 ± 0.2 mA, 74 ± 6 mW m−3, 25.4 Ω, 10.65 ± 0.5% and 93.57 ± 1.2%, respectively. Maximum current density increases linearly with temperature at a rate of 0.1772 mA m−2 °C−1, whereas maximum power density was in a polynomial function. The temperature coefficient (Q10) is found to be 1.20 between 15°C and 35°C. Present studies have demonstrated better CE performance when compared to other MFC-AHSs. Generally, MFC-AHS has demonstrated higher COD removals when compared to standalone MFC regardless of operating temperatures. Abbreviations: ACFF: activated carbon fiber felt; APHA: American Public Health Association; CE: Coulombic efficiency; COD: chemical oxygen demand; ECG: electrocardiogram; GAC: granular activated carbon; GFB: graphite fiber brush; MFC: microbial fuel cell; MFC-AHS: microbial fuel cell integrated with adsorption hybrid system; MFC-GG: microbial fuel cell integrated with graphite granules; POME: palm oil mill effluent; PTFE: polytetrafluoroethylene; SEM: scanning electron microscope. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

A Combined Microbial Fuel Cell and Adsorption System for Bio-energy Production and Wastewater Treatment

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are electrochemical conversion devices, which are able to accomplish simultaneous electricity generation and wastewater treatment. Integrating MFC with other unit operations or processes has been a trend in recent years for better pollutants removal and greater bio-energy generation. In the present study, an air-cathode MFC integrated with adsorption hybrid system (MFC-AHS) had been designed and fabricated from cost effective materials in order to bring the overall design closer to large-scale application. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) which is rich in organic matters had demonstrated the potential of converting the wastewater into bio-energy by applying POME to the MFC-AHS as the source of inoculums and substrate. The performance between MFC-AHS was compared to the standalone adsorption system and results had demonstrated great pollutants removals of the integrated system especially for chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD3), total organic carbon (TOC), total volatile solids (TVS), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) and total nitrogen (TN) because such system combines the advantages of each individual unit

Recent advances in materials and device technologies for soft active matrix electronics

Multiplexed active matrix addressing is critical to extract and process signals from a large number of channels. Recently, the soft active matrix has attracted a great deal of attention due to its potential for a variety of applications such as electronic skins, sensors, and bioelectronics. To realize their use in these various applications, flexible and stretchable formats of the active matrix technologies have emerged. In this review, a variety of reports on the soft active matrix are presented and discussed. The technologies of electronic devices implemented in the modern active matrix are introduced. Strategies to achieve flexible and stretchable active matrix technologies, their advantages and disadvantages, and their applications are briefly described. The review closes with a summary, the associated challenges, and future directions for the development of soft active matrix electronics