Page 132 - C:\Users\am_se\OneDrive - Higher Education Commission\Desktop\FlipBook\

International Conference on

Recent Trends in Environmental Sustainability

ESCON22/FWSH/09
Fuel cell catalyst production using metals bio recovered from hospital waste incinerator
bottom ash

1
Muhammad Shahid , Fozia Anjum 2*
1 Department of Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-38000, Pakistan
2 Department of Chemistry, Government College University, Faisalabad-38000, Pakistan`
Correspondence: drfoziaanjum@gcuf.edu.pk

Abstract
Developing countries are facing major issues of waste management, especially hospital waste.
Incineration has become the main mechanism for hospital waste (HW) reduction, but it turned
it into ashes. In the current study, valued metals ions were bioleached from ash generated from
hospital waste. Ultrasound assisted organic acids metabolites production from fungal microbes
(Apergillus niger) and further metals solubilization from HW ash was done. These microbially
recovered metals were further converted into fuel cells for energy generation. Raw sample of
ash was analyzed by ICP-OES and outcomes exhibited the presence of different metals such
as zinc, titanium, chromium, nickle, rubidium, cobalt, copper, barium, manganese, cadmium,
−1
gallium and bismuth in the concentration range of 1.00–118.0 (mg.kg ). Potential biocatalyst
character of microbially extracted Ni and Cu was evaluated in fuel cell of alkaline nature.
Alkaline fuel cell using potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte exhibited high current efficiency
at low temperature. 1.9 percent of metal was coated on cathode with the resultant current
intensity of 0.3A -1 cm2 .

Keywords: Hospital waste incinerator bottom ash; Bio recovery; metals; Aspergillus niger,
metabolites; fuel cell.

Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus

99