Caracterización molecular de cultivos axénicos para el tratamiento de lixiviados mediante Celdas de Combustible Microbianas.

Abstract

The aim of the current research was to characterize in a molecular way axenic cultures from an anodic biofilm formed by microorganisms found in moorland soil for the treatment of fruit and vegetable leachates generated by the Wholesale Market in Riobamba city by means of continuous flow microbial fuel cells. For the experimentation process, Delftia acidovorans bacterium which was obtained through a molecular identification was used as inoculum; in addition, a moorland soil solution for implementing two treatments in triplicate was also used. An analysis of the leachate sample before and after the experimentation was carried out through the application of standard methods. Simple configuration cells with 510 mL operating volume were built as well as a data acquisition system with Arduino 1, and 3. ads1115 I2c analog converters were used to automatically collect voltage data every 60 seconds on a computer for 15 days. The pH measurement of the six cells was performed every day and the hydraulic retention time considered was 24 hours for substrate recirculation. Statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences in voltage production and contaminant removal in both treatments. The average voltage obtained by the pure culture was 127.98 mV and 122.9 mV by the moorland soil, both cases evidenced similar percentages of organic matter removal measured in the biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen; however, the treatment with moorland soil evidenced higher removal percentages. It is concluded that the axenic and heterotrophic cultures used in the leachate sample with continuous flow feeding increased pH, bioelectricity production and organic matter removal. It is recommended to carry out treatments using mixed bacterial cultures to maximize the voltage and pollutant load removal.