Abstract | BACKGROUND: Water scarcity is a growing global issue, with about 2 billion people lacking access to safe drinking water (Musie and Gonfa, 2023). Traditional desalination methods, like reverse osmosis, are energy-intensive (Shokri and Sanavi Fard, 2023). Microbial Desalination Cells (MDCs) offer a sustainable alternative by using electroactive bacteria to generate electricity while desalinating water. However, MDCs face technical challenges that limit their efficiency (Shah, 2024). This research investigated the impact of 3D-printed biofilms on improving the desalination efficiency of MDCs. RESULTS & DISCUSSION: The results demonstrated that MDCs with 3D-printed biofilms significantly outperformed conventional MDCs. Among the biofilms, the Sodium Alginate Graphene Nanoplatelets (SAGNP)-biofilm MDC achieved the highest desalination rate of 0.84 mS/h, followed by the Sodium Alginate (SA)-biofilm MDC at 0.70 mS/h, and the Gelatin Methacrylate (GelMA)-based MDC at 0.56 mS/h. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the potential of 3D-printed biofilms in MDCs and their optimisation as next-generation biofilms to enhance MDC performance, contributing to the technical feasibility of MDCs as a more energy-efficient and sustainable method for desalination. |
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