Electricity generation from sulfide tailings using a double-chamber microbial fuel cell

Abstract

Here we established a new approach to pyrrhotite tailing leaching (ferrous sulfide as model) by double-chamber microbial fuel cell technologies to generate electricity while recovering valuable metals. The cell voltage showed values of up to 690.4 mV and iron recovery of up to 44.6%. Pyrrhotite tailings had the potential to drive electricity generation accompanied by microbial leaching of valuable metal using the established double-chamber MFC reactor.