The relief of microtherm inhibition for p-fluoronitrobenzene mineralization using electrical stimulation at low temperatures

Performance of pharmaceutical products removal in a bioelectrochemical system at low temperatures and changes in microbial communities and antibiotic resistance genes

Biological methods do not effectively remove pharmaceutical products (PPs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from wastewater at low temperatures, leading to environmental pollution. Therefore, anaerobic-aerobic-coupled upflow bioelectrochemical reactors (AO-UBERs) were designed to improve the removal of PPs at low temperatures (10 ± 2 °C). The result shows that diclofenac (DIC) and ibuprofen (IBU) removals in the system with aerobic anodic and anaerobic cathodic chambers were 91.7% and 94.7%, higher than that in the control system (12.2 ± 1.5%, 36.5 ± 5.9%), and aerobic zone favors DIC and IBU removal; fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs) removals in the system with aerobic cathodic and anaerobic anodic chambers were 17.5-22.4% higher than that in the control system (9.1-22.4%), and anaerobic zone favors FQs removal. Analysis of microbial community structure and ARGs showed that different electrotrophic microbes (Flavobacterium, Acinetobacter, and Delftia) with cold-resistant ability to degrade PPs were enriched in different electrode combinations, and the aerobic cathodic chambers could remove certain ARGs. These results showed that AO-UBERs under intermittent electrical stimulation mode are an alternative method for the effective removal of PPs and ARGs at low temperatures.

Enhancing biocathode denitrification performance with nano-Fe3O4 under polarity period reversal

The presence of excessive concentrations of nitrate poses a threat to both the environment and human health, and the bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are attractive green technologies for nitrate removal. However, the denitrification efficiency in the BESs is still limited by slow biofilm formation and nitrate removal. In this work, we demonstrate the efficacy of novel combination of magnetite nanoparticles (nano-Fe3O4) with the anode-cathode polarity period reversal (PPR-Fe3O4) for improving the performance of BESs. After only two-week cultivation, the highest cathodic current density (7.71 ± 1.01 A m-2) and NO3--N removal rate (8.19 ± 0.97 g m-2 d-1) reported to date were obtained in the PPR-Fe3O4 process (i.e., polarity period reversal with nano-Fe3O4 added) at applied working voltage of -0.2 and -0.5 V (vs Ag/AgCl) under bioanodic and biocathodic conditions, respectively. Compared with the polarity reversal once only process, the PPR process (i.e., polarity period reversal in the absence of nano-Fe3O4) enhanced bioelectroactivity through increasing biofilm biomass and altering microbial community structure. Nano-Fe3O4 could enhance extracellular electron transfer as a result of promoting the formation of extracellular polymers containing Fe3O4 and reducing charge transfer resistance of bioelectrodes. This work develops a novel biocathode denitrification strategy to achieve efficient nitrate removal after rapid cultivation.

Research progress of electrically-enhanced membrane bioreactor (EMBR) in pollutants removal and membrane fouling alleviation

Membrane bioreactor (MBR), as a biological unit for wastewater treatment, has been proven to have the advantages of simple structure and high pollutant removal rate. However, membrane fouling limits its wide application, and it is crucial to adopt effective membrane fouling control methods. As a new type of membrane fouling control technology, electrically-enhanced MBR (EMBR) has attracted more interest recently. It uses the driving force of electric field to make pollutants flocculate or move away from the membrane surface to achieve the purpose of inhibiting membrane fouling. This paper expounds the configuration of EMBR in recent years, including the location of membrane components, the way of electric field application and the selection of electrode and membrane materials, and provides the latest development information in various aspects. The enhanced effect of electric field on the removal of comprehensive and refractory pollutants is outlined in detail. And from the perspective of sludge properties (EPS, SMP, sludge particle size, zeta potential and microbial activity), the influence of electric field on sludge characteristics and the relationship between the changes of sludge properties in EMBR and membrane fouling are discussed. Moreover, the electrochemical mechanisms of electric field alleviating membrane fouling are elucidated from electrophoresis, electrostatic repulsion, electroflocculation, electroosmosis, and electrochemical oxidation, and the regeneration and stability of EMBR are assessed. The existing challenges and future research directions are also proposed. This review could provide theoretical guidance and further studies for subsequent topic, and promoting the wide engineering applications of EMBR.

A novel aerobic sulfate reduction process in landfill mineralized refuse

It is thought that mineralized refuse could be excavated from almost-full landfill sites to provide space for the increasing burden of municipal solid waste. When excavating, however, the H₂S emissions from the mineralized waste need to be considered carefully. In an attempt to understand how H₂S emissions might change during this excavation process, we carried out a series of tests, including exposing anaerobic mineralized refuse to oxygen, isolating and determining possible functional bacteria, and characterizing the electron donors and/or acceptors. The results showed that H₂S would be released when landfill mineralized refuse was exposed to oxygen (O₂), and could reach concentrations of 6 mg m^-3, which was 3 times the concentrations of H₂S released from anaerobic mineralized refuse. Sulfur-metabolized microorganisms accounted for only 0.5% of the microbial functional bacteria (MFB) derived from the mineralized refuse when exposed to O₂ for 60 days, and SRB were not present. The MFB maintained H₂S production by aerobic sulfate reduction using SO₄^2- and S₂O₃^2- as electron acceptors, and sulfate-reducing rates of 16% and 55%, respectively, were achieved. Lactate and S₂O₃^2- were the preferred electron donor and acceptor, respectively. By enhancing the carbon source and electron transfer, MFB may undergo strong aerobic sulfate reduction even at low abundances of sulfur-metabolized microorganisms.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emission control by aerobic sulfate reduction in landfill

H₂S emissions from landfill sites resulting from sulfate reduction has become a serious human health and ecological safety issue. This study investigated H₂S emission behavior and sulfate metabolism occurring in simulated landfills under different operating conditions. Under aerobic conditions, great attenuation of the original sulfate content (from around 6000 mg kg⁻¹ dropped to below 800 mg kg⁻¹) with corresponding accumulation of sulfides and elemental sulfur were observed, indicating that sulfate reduction processes were intense under such conditions. Analysis of the bacterial community in these landfills showed great abundance (1.10%) and diversity of sulfur reducing types, confirming their active involvement in this process. In particular, the total abundance of sulfate-reducing bacteria increased nearly 30 times under aerobic conditions, leading to the transformation of sulfate to sulfide and other reduced sulfur species. Although exposure to air promoted the accumulation of sulfide, it did not lead to an increase in H₂S release in these landfills.

Low temperature acclimation with electrical stimulation enhance the biocathode functioning stability for antibiotics detoxification

Improvement of the stability of functional microbial communities in wastewater treatment system is critical to accelerate pollutants detoxification in cold regions. Although biocathode communities could accelerate environmental pollutants degradation, how to acclimate the cold stress and to improve the catalytic stability of functional microbial communities are remain poorly understood. Here we investigated the structural and functional responses of antibiotic chloramphenicol (CAP) reducing biocathode communities to constant low temperature 10 °C (10-biocathode) and temperature elevation from 10 °C to 25 °C (S25-biocathode). Our results indicated that the low temperature acclimation with electrical stimulation obviously enhanced the CAP nitro group reduction efficiency when comparing the aromatic amine product AMCl2 formation efficiency with the 10-biocathode and S25-biocathode under the opened and closed circuit conditions. The 10-biocathode generated comparative AMCl maximum as the S25-biocathode but showed significant lower dehalogenation rate of AMCl2 to AMCl. The continuous low temperature and temperature elevation both enriched core functional community in the 10-biocathode and S25-biocathode, respectively. The 10-biocathode functioning stability maintained mainly through selectively enriching cold-adapted functional species, coexisting metabolically similar nitroaromatics reducers and maintaining the relative abundance of key electrons transfer genes. This study provides new insights into biocathode functioning stability for accelerating environmental pollutants degradation in cold wastewater system.

Effect of phosphoric acid as a catalyst on the hydrothermal pretreatment and acidogenic fermentation of food waste

The hydrothermal method was applied to food waste (FW) pretreatment with phosphoric acid as a catalyst. The content of soluble substances such as protein and carbohydrate in the FW increased after the hydrothermal pretreatment with phosphoric acid addition (⩽5%). The SCOD approached approximately 29.0g/L in 5% phosphoric acid group, which is almost 65% more than the original FW. The hydrothermal condition was 160°C for 10min, which means that at least 40% of energy and 60% of reaction time were saved to achieve the expected pretreatment effect. Subsequent fermentation tests showed that the optimal dosage of phosphoric acid was 3% with a VFA yield of 0.763g/gVSremoval, but the increase in salinity caused by phosphoric acid could adversely affect the acidogenesis. With an increase in the quantity of phosphoric acid, among the VFAs, the percentage of propionic acid decreased and that of butyric acid increased. The PCR-DGGE analysis indicated that the microbial diversity could decrease with excessive phosphoric acid, which resulted in a low VFA yield.

Addition of nitrite enhances the electrochemical defluorination of 2-fluoroaniline

This study introduces a novel approach that uses the interaction of pollutants with added nitrite to produce diazonium salts, which cause in situ self-assembly of the pollutants on carbon electrodes, to improve their 2-fluoroaniline (2-FA) defluorination and removal performance. The 2-FA degradation performance, electrode properties, electrochemical properties and degradation pathway were investigated. The reactor containing NO2(-) achieved a 2-FA removal efficiency of 90.1% and a defluorination efficiency of 38% within 48 h, 1.4 and 2.3 times higher than the corresponding results achieved without NO2(-), respectively. The residual NO2(-) was less than 0.5mg/L in the reactor containing added NO2(-), which would not cause serious secondary pollution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results proved that the carbon anode surface was successfully modified with benzene polymer, and electrochemical tests confirmed that the electrochemical activity of the modified anode was enhanced significantly. The C-F bond was weakened by the effect of the positive charge of the benzenediazonium groups, and the high electrochemical activity of the carbon anode enhanced the electrochemical performance of the system to accelerate defluorination. Thus, the present electrical method involving nitrite nitrogen is very promising for the treatment of wastewater containing fluoroaniline compounds.

Electrical stimulation improves microbial salinity resistance and organofluorine removal in bioelectrochemical systems

Fed batch bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) based on electrical stimulation were used to treat p-fluoronitrobenzene (p-FNB) wastewater at high salinities. At a NaCl concentration of 40 g/liter, p-FNB was removed 100% in 96 h in the BES, whereas in the biotic control (BC) (absence of current), p-FNB removal was only 10%. By increasing NaCl concentrations from 0 g/liter to 40 g/liter, defluorination efficiency decreased around 40% in the BES, and in the BC it was completely ceased. p-FNB was mineralized by 30% in the BES and hardly in the BC. Microorganisms were able to store 3.8 and 0.7 times more K(+) and Na(+) intracellularly in the BES than in the BC. Following the same trend, the ratio of protein to soluble polysaccharide increased from 3.1 to 7.8 as the NaCl increased from 0 to 40 g/liter. Both trends raise speculation that an electrical stimulation drives microbial preference toward K(+) and protein accumulation to tolerate salinity. These findings are in accordance with an enrichment of halophilic organisms in the BES. Halobacterium dominated in the BES by 56.8% at a NaCl concentration of 40 g/liter, while its abundance was found as low as 17.5% in the BC. These findings propose a new method of electrical stimulation to improve microbial salinity resistance.