This research studied the amount of Cu recovery using a two-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC). The effect of initial Cu concentration in the cathode and also different cathode materials including carbon cloth (CC), carbon cloth modified with reduced graphene oxide (CC/rGO), and carbon cloth modified with reduced graphene oxide and polyaniline (CC/rGO/PANI) was examined. Analysis of the statistical results showed the CC/rGO/PANI electrode compared to the other two electrodes significantly better performance (p-value <0.05), and amount of Cu recovery at 100 mg/L was significantly higher than at 500 mg/L (p-value <0.001). The highest voltage obtained in the open circuit voltage (OCV) condition was 561 mV. The CC/rGO/PANI electrode achieved a Cu recovery rate of 99.3 %, a maximum output voltage of 647 mV, and a maximum power density of 981 mW/m3 after 120 h at an initial Cu concentration of 500 mg/L. Based on regression efficient for kinetic Cu recovery was examined and result showed the first-order rate (R2 = 0.98) has more accurate prediction and explanation of the reaction.
