Performance and microbial community in the biocathode of microbial fuel cells under different dissolved oxygen concentrations

Synergistic advancements in sewage-driven microbial fuel cells: novel carbon nanotube cathodes and biomass-derived anodes for efficient renewable energy generation and wastewater treatment

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer a dual solution of generating electrical energy from organic pollutants-laden wastewater while treating it. This study focuses on enhancing MFC performance through innovative electrode design. Three-dimensional (3D) anodes, created from corncobs and mango seeds via controlled graphitization, achieved remarkable power densities. The newly developed electrode configurations were evaluated within sewage wastewater-driven MFCs without the introduction of external microorganisms or prior treatment of the wastewater. At 1,000°C and 1,100°C graphitization temperatures, corncob and mango seed anodes produced 1,963 and 2,171 mW/m2, respectively, nearly 20 times higher than conventional carbon cloth and paper anodes. An advanced cathode composed of an activated carbon-carbon nanotube composite was introduced, rivaling expensive platinum-based cathodes. By optimizing the thermal treatment temperature and carbon nanotube content of the proposed cathode, comparable or superior performance to standard Pt/C commercial cathodes was achieved. Specifically, MFCs assembled with corncob anode with the proposed and standard Pt/C cathodes reached power densities of 1,963.1 and 2,178.6 mW/m2, respectively. Similarly, when utilizing graphitized mango seeds at 1,100°C, power densities of 2,171 and 2,151 mW/m2 were achieved for the new and standard cathodes, respectively. Furthermore, in continuous operation with a flow rate of 2 L/h, impressive chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates of 77% and 85% were achieved with corncob and mango seed anodes, respectively. This work highlights the significance of electrode design for enhancing MFC efficiency in electricity generation and wastewater treatment.

Roles of high/low nucleic acid bacteria in flocs and probing their dynamic migrations with respirogram

Bacterial migration is crucial for the stability of activated sludge but rarely reported. The static distribution was explored by changes in bacteria concentration with extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) extractions. Next, denitrification and aeration were conducted as normal running conditions for examining the bacterial migration between floc-attached and dispersed growth. Above observations were further explored by conducting copper ion (Cu2+) shock as an extreme running condition. After extracting EPS, low nucleic acid (LNA) bacteria migrated from the sludge to the supernatant primarily, and high nucleic acid (HNA) bacteria remained in the residual sludge, suggesting that HNA bacteria mainly distributed inside the sludge while LNA bacteria outside the sludge. During the denitrification process, LNA bacteria migrated out of flocs, which increased by 6.94 × 106 events/mL in the supernatant. During the feast phase of aeration, LNA bacteria grew attached to flocs, causing the increased flocs diameter from 45.60 to 47.40 μm. During the following aerobic famine phase, LNA bacteria grew dispersedly, but HNA bacteria remained unchanged. However, a further severe famine phase drove HNA bacteria to be dispersed, breaking flocs with the decreased diameter from 48.10 to 46.50 μm. When the Cu2+ shock was employed, LNA and HNA bacteria increased but the LNA/HNA ratio decreased in the supernatant, indicating more HNA bacteria migrating to the dispersed phase. From a structural perspective, HNA bacteria distributed inside the sludge and functioned as the backbone of flocs, undertaking the maintenance of flocs stability primarily; while LNA bacteria distributed outside the sludge and functioned as filling materials, having a secondary influence on flocs stability. These processes were also probed by respirogram exactly, correlating the system-scale measurement and microscale migrations and providing an early warning signal under abnormal circumstances. The processed HNA-backbone theory is promising for regulating the stability of activated sludge based on bacterial migrations.

Rice developmental stages modulate rhizosphere bacteria and archaea co-occurrence and sensitivity to long-term inorganic fertilization in a West African Sahelian agro-ecosystem

BACKGROUND

Rhizosphere microbial communities are important components of the soil-plant continuum in paddy field ecosystems. These rhizosphere communities contribute to nutrient cycling and rice productivity. The use of fertilizers is a common agricultural practice in rice paddy fields. However, the long-term impact of the fertilizers usage on the rhizosphere microbial communities at different rice developmental stages remains poorly investigated. Here, we examined the effects of long-term (27 years) N and NPK-fertilization on bacterial and archaeal community inhabiting the rice rhizosphere at three developmental stages (tillering, panicle initiation and booting) in the Senegal River Delta.

RESULTS

We found that the effect of long-term inorganic fertilization on rhizosphere microbial communities varied with the rice developmental stage, and between microbial communities in their response to N and NPK-fertilization. The microbial communities inhabiting the rice rhizosphere at panicle initiation appear to be more sensitive to long-term inorganic fertilization than those at tillering and booting stages. However, the effect of developmental stage on microbial sensitivity to long-term inorganic fertilization was more pronounced for bacterial than archaeal community. Furthermore, our data reveal dynamics of bacteria and archaea co-occurrence patterns in the rice rhizosphere, with differentiated bacterial and archaeal pivotal roles in the microbial inter-kingdom networks across developmental stages.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study brings new insights on rhizosphere bacteria and archaea co-occurrence and the long-term inorganic fertilization impact on these communities across developmental stages in field-grown rice. It would help in developing strategies for the successful manipulation of microbial communities to improve rice yields.

A. Jorand F, Barrière F, Etienne M. Challenges and Applications of Nitrate-Reducing Microbial Biocathodes

Bioelectrochemical systems which employ microbes as electrode catalysts to convert chemical energy into electrical energy (or conversely), have emerged in recent years for water sanitation and energy recovery. Microbial biocathodes, and especially those reducing nitrate are gaining more and more attention. The nitrate-reducing biocathodes can efficiently treat nitrate-polluted wastewater. However, they require specific conditions and they have not yet been applied on a large scale. In this review, the current knowledge on nitrate-reducing biocathodes will be summarized. The fundamentals of microbial biocathodes will be discussed, as well as the progress towards applications for nitrate reduction in the context of water treatment. Nitrate-reducing biocathodes will be compared with other nitrate-removal techniques and the challenges and opportunities of this approach will be identified.

Employing conductive carrier for establishing spontaneous microbial galvanic cell and accelerating denitrification

It is well-known that metal corrosion is accelerated by formation of galvanic cell. In this study, we reported the acceleration of denitrification by using conductive carrier through formation of microbial galvanic cell (MGC). Electrically conductive graphite plate (GP) was used as biofilm carrier and compared with the non-conductive polypropylene (PP) plate carrier. Cyclic voltametric analyses showed that biofilms with bidirectional electron transfer functions of bioelectrochemical denitrification (BEDN) and acetate oxidation could be enriched spontaneously onto the GP carrier, hinting the establishment of MGC. Further analysis using differential pulse voltammetry revealed that the redox mediator related to extracellular electron transfer was detected in both media of the GP and PP carrier. Microbial community analysis showed that the biofilms in both GP and PP carrier had identical microbial composition but varied in abundance. The genus of Comamonas, Pseudomonas, Paracoccus and Thauera were the dominance of electroactive denitrifiers responsible for BEDN in both the GP and PP carrier. The GP carrier had a 75.9% higher abundant enrichment of electroactive denitrifiers than the PP carrier. Denitrification performance analyses showed that the GP carrier had a denitrification rate constant (k_DN) of 1.25 and 2.66 h^-1 at 15 °C and 30 °C, respectively, which was nearly 76.1% and 92.7% higher than the non-conductive PP carrier with corresponding values of about 0.71 and 1.38 h^-1. Further, the result of conductive carrier accelerating denitrification was confirmed in scaled-up denitrification bioreactors with volume of 104 L using brush-like biofilm carriers. The acceleration of denitrification was attributed to the spontaneously established MGC, which promoted the direct and mediated electron transfer of the electroactive denitrifiers grown onto the conductive carriers and speeded up the BEDN. The result of this study demonstrated that the BEDN could be integrated to traditional biological denitrification system to accelerate denitrification in the form of MGC by simply employment of conductive carrier.

Contribution of nitrous oxide to the carbon footprint of full-scale wastewater treatment plants and mitigation strategies- a critical review

Nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas, significantly contributes to the carbon footprint of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and contributes significantly to global climate change and to the deterioration of the natural environment. Our understanding of N₂O generation mechanisms has significantly improved in the last decade, but the development of effective N₂O emission mitigation strategies has lagged owing to the complexity of parameter regulation, substandard monitoring activities, and inadequate policy criteria. Based on critically screened published studies on N₂O control in full-scale WWTPs, this review elucidates N₂O generation pathway identifications and emission mechanisms and summarizes the impact of N₂O on the total carbon footprint of WWTPs. In particular, a linear relationship was established between N₂O emission factors and total nitrogen removal efficiencies in WWTPs located in China. Promising N₂O mitigation options were proposed, which focus on optimizing operating conditions and implementation of innovative treatment processes. Furthermore, the sustainable operation of WWTPs has been anticipated to convert WWTPs into absolute greenhouse gas reducers as a result of the refinement and improvement of on-site monitoring activities, mitigation mechanisms, regulation of operational parameters, modeling, and policies.

Enhanced performance and microbial interactions of shallow wetland bed coupling with functional biocathode microbial electrochemical system (MES)

It is essential to remediate the polluted urban river, which endangers the aquatic creatures and affected human body's senses. The treatment wetland combined with microbial electrochemical system (MES) used for the remediation is becoming a new research focus due to its ideal pollutants removal efficiency and small footprint. Here this paper provided a kind of novel shallow wetland bed coupling with close-circuit microbial electrochemical system (WB-CMES) to remove pollutants in surface water. In contrast to the shallow wetland bed coupling with open-circuit MES (WB-OMES) and the shallow wetland bed without MES (WB), the enhancing effects and pollutants removal pathway were evaluated. After 62-day operation, average TN removal efficiency in WB-CMES was 87.7%, which was 19.7% and 13.8% higher than that of WB-OMES and WB respectively. The rate coefficient k of NO₃^--N degradation in WB-CMES was 1.6 and 1.8 times higher than that in WB-OMES and WB. The results of chlorophyll, protein and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in WB-CMES were 27.3%, 44.3% and 12.9% higher than those in WB. The microbial community structure analysis indicated that electroactive bacteria on anode like Desulfobulbus could oxidize organics and generate electrons to compensate cathode, meanwhile, cathode could enrich more species of functional bacteria like Rhodobacter, Pirellula, Hyphomicrobium, Thauera, which had a synergistic effect on oxygen reduction, nitrogen removal and plant growth. The results indicated that oxygen produced by submerged plants could be utilized by the oxygen-reducing functional biocathode of MES and the proper aerobic and anoxic environment might enhance nitrate removal mainly through simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND), aerobic denitrification and anammox. This research provided a novel technology with advantages of simple operation, flexible configuration, easy scale-up and low cost for application in remediation of highly polluted surface water.

A novel sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification coupled with bio-cathode system for bioelectricity generation and groundwater remediation

This study explored the feasibility of treating wastewater using sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrification (SAD) coupled with the bio-cathode of microbial fuel cell (MFC), focusing on simultaneous bioelectricity generation, denitrification, and desulphurization. A maximum output voltage of 360 mV was obtained with a power generation cycle of 25 h when simulated wastewater with 100.0 mg/L of each NO₃^--N and S^2--S was employed as the influent in the SAD-BMFC. Compared with solo SAD or MFC, SAD-BMFC obtained a higher NO₃^--N removal rate (E_{12 h} = 87.7%, E_{24 h} = 100%), and less NO₂^--N accumulation. S^2--S of the influent was almost completely removed, oxidized to S⁰-S (88.6-90.2 mg/L) and SO₄^2--S (9.8-11.4 mg/L). The reaction system achieved self-balance of acidity-alkalinity (pH 7.05-7.35). The SAD process was the main pathway for NO₃^--N removal (80.2%) and a smaller proportion of electrons came from the bio-cathode. This study effectively combined SAD with a bio-cathode system for simultaneous energy harvest and bio-enhanced remediation of groundwater contaminated by both NO₃^--N and S^2--S.

Advancements on sustainable microbial fuel cells and their future prospects: A review

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a sustainable device that produces electricity. The main components of MFC are electrodes (anode & cathode) and separators. The MFC's performance is ascertained by measuring its power density. Its components and other parameters, such as cell design and configuration, operation parameters (pH, salinity, and temperature), substrate characteristics, and microbes present in the substrate, all influence its performance. MFC can be scaled up and commercialized using low-cost materials without affecting its performance. Hence the choice of materials plays a significant role. In the past, precious and non-precious metals were mostly used. These were replaced by a variety of low-cost carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous materials. Nano materials, activated compounds, composite materials, have also found their way as components of MFC materials. This review describes the recently reported modified electrodes (anode and cathode), their improvisation, their merits, pollutant removal efficiency, and associated power density.

Bioelectrochemical assisted landfill technology for the stabilization and valorization of food waste anaerobic digestate

Anaerobic digestion provides an important approach for food waste treatment and valorization, yet a considerable amount of digestate is produced. The appropriate management and utilization of food waste anaerobic digestate is highly desirable for solving both environmental and economic concerns currently. This work innovatively develops a natural potential difference assisted landfill technology (shown as BESAL) for food waste digestate treatment and energy recovery. The results demonstrate the electrochemical assistant accelerates the stabilization of digestate, provides extra 14.89% of organic matter removal and 20.92 mW/m² of electrical energy recovery over conventional treatment. BESAL promotes the removal of soluble matters in digestate extraction, prevents 13.07 mg/g ammonium-N and 32.87% of total VFAs from accumulation. BESAL also performs gene level stabilization by inhibiting/eliminating microbial and pathogenic gene to ensure the biosafety in its product. Integrated landfill with bioelectrochemical assistance provides a promising option for organic waste stabilization and valorization.

Advanced bioelectrochemical system for nitrogen removal in wastewater

Nitrogen (N) pollution in water has become a serious issue that cannot be ignored due to the harm posed by excessive nitrogen to environmental safety and human health; as such, N concentrations in water are strictly limited. The bioelectrochemical system (BES) is a new method to remove excessive N from water, and has attracted considerable attention. Compared with other methods, it is highly efficient and has low energy consumption. However, the BES has not been applied for N removal in practice due to lack of in-depth research on the mechanism and construction of high-performance electrodes, separators, and reactor configurations; this highlights a need to review and examine the efforts in this field. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the current BES research for N removal focusing on the reaction principles, reactor configurations, electrodes and separators, and treatment of actual wastewater; the corresponding performances in these realms are also discussed. Finally, the prospects for N removal in water using the BES are presented.

Aerobic biocathodes with potential regulation for ammonia oxidation with concomitant cathodic oxygen reduction and their microbial communities

Aerobic biocathodes are effective construct for the simultaneous nitrification and denitrification, but the disturbance of cathodic oxygen reduction on ammonia oxidation and denitrification remains unclear. In this study, we revealed the oxygen reduction peak at -0.4 V (versus silver/silver chloride) by cyclic voltammetry analysis at a cathode without a biofilm. The reduction peak, however, showed a right shift from -0.4 to -0.3 V for the biocathode, indicating that the aerobic biocathode could simultaneously perform traditional nitrification and cathode oxygen reduction. Therefore, different electrode potentials ranging from -0.5 to -0.1 V were designed for regulating the ammonia oxidation rate, and the results showed that the highest oxidation rate reached 3.08 mg/h/L at a potential of -0.2 V under a low-aeration rate of 5 mL/min. High-throughput sequencing showed that Nitrosomonas and Rhodococcus were the dominant nitrogen removal genera in the biocathode, and the abundance of Devosia was related to the interactions between the aeration rate and the electrode potential. Furthermore, the amoC and hao genes responded to aeration and electrode potential regulation, and -0.2 V was more suitable for promoting the denitrification process under low-aeration conditions. Therefore, these findings provided new insights on cathodic potential control for ammonia oxidation and nitrogen removal as well as for the regulation of microbial communities.

Activated carbon supported Fe–Cu–NC as an efficient cathode catalyst for a microbial fuel cell

Herein, the output power density produced by Fe–Cu–NC-x as the cathode catalyst of a MFC was higher than that of the AC control.

An overview in the development of cathode materials for the improvement in power generation of microbial fuel cells

Since the high cost and low power generation hinder the overall practical application of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), numerous attempts have been made in the field of cathode materials to enhance the electrical performance of MFCs because they directly catalyze the oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). To choose a proper cathode material, following principles such as ORR activity, conductivity, cost-efficiency, durability, surface area, and accessibility should be taken into consideration. In preparation of cathode materials, versatile materials have been chosen, synthesized, or modified to achieve an improvement in power generation of MFCs. The most widely applied cathode materials could be categorized into three classes, namely carbon-base materials, metal-based materials, and biocatalysts. This review summarizes the utilization, development, and the cost of cathode materials applied in MFCs and tries to highlight the effective modification methods of cathode materials which have helped in achieving enhanced power generation of MFCs in recent years.

In-situ utilizing the produced electricity to regulate substrate conversion in denitrifying sulfide removal microbial fuel cells

A denitrifying sulfide removal microbial fuel cell, incorporated with a capacitor and run in an alternate charging and discharging mode, was developed to in-situ utilize the produced electricity. The switching interval, external resistance distribution and temperature were used to adjust substrates conversion via regulating electrode potentials. The switching interval of 10 min favored the formation of sulfur and gaseous nitrogen. Adjusting the external resistances via the constant anode potential method was a feasible measure for regulating the cathode potential and promoting nitrate reduction, achieving a total nitrogen removal rate of 16.5 ± 0.8 g N/(m³ d) and a gaseous nitrogen formation percent of 32.2 ± 1.5%. 30 °C favored gaseous nitrogen formation while 10 °C and 40 °C benefited sulfur formation. In-situ utilization of the produced electricity shifted the microbial community structure. This work provided a novel approach to regulate the substrate conversion by in-situ utilizing the produced electricity.

Effect of waterproof breathable membrane based cathodes on performance and biofilm microbiomes in bioelectrochemical systems

A novel method for fabricating air-cathodes was developed by assembling an activated carbon (AC) catalyst together with a waterproof breathable membrane (WBM) and stainless steel mesh (SSM) to reduce manufacturing costs of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs). WBMs made of different materials were tested in the assembly, including a hybrid of polypropylene and polyolefin (PPPO), polyethylene (PE), and polyurethane (PU), and compared against poly tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based cathodes. Results showed that the maximum power density of the activated carbon-stainless steel mesh-polyurethane (AC@SSM/PU) assembly was 2.03 W/m² while that of conventional carbon cloth cathode assembly (Pt@CC/PTFE) was 1.51 W/m². Compared to conventional cathode fabrication, AC@SSM/PU had a much lower cost and simpler manufacturing process. Illumina Miseq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons indicated that microbiomes were substantially different between anode and cathode biofilms. There was also a difference in the community composition between different cathode biofilms. The predominant population in the anode biofilms was Geobacter (38-75% relative abundance), while Thauera and Pseudomonas dominated the cathode biofilms. The results demonstrated that different types of air-cathodes influenced the microbial community assembly on the electrodes.

Effects of Modified Anodes on the Performance and Microbial Community of Microbial Fuel Cells Using Swine Wastewater

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have emerged as a sustainable technology for wastewater treatment that has potential to recycle bioelectricity from livestock wastewater. The performance of MFCs is influenced by the synergistic effect of anode material with nearby microorganisms. In this study, three identical double-chambered MFCs with different anode carbon clothes using swine wastewater are established. The optimization mechanism of MFC performance is analyzed by anode characteristics, cell performance, and microbial community, respectively. The results show that the surface structure and properties of the anode carbon cloth can be obviously improved by the acid–heat-modified treatment. The community structure of anodic biofilm, which varied with different modification methods, was mainly dominated by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. These findings demonstrate efficient and simple methods for improving the performance of MFCs based on swine wastewater and may help to explore the influence mechanism of different modified anodes on the exoelectrogens.

Simultaneous removal of organics, sulfide and ammonium coupled with electricity generation in a loop microbial fuel cell system

A loop microbial fuel cell (MFC) system consisting of a denitrifying organics/sulfide removal MFC and a nitrification chamber was developed, and its performance at different feeding ratios of total organic carbon to sulfide (TOC/S) and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels of cathodic feeding were investigated. High feeding TOC/S ratio favored elemental sulfur production and anodic electron recovery. Introducing oxygen into the cathode enhanced nitrogen removal and electricity generation but hindered elemental sulfur production. At the optimal feeding TOC/S mass ratio of 4.69 and cathodic feeding DO of 4.2 mg/L, 100% of TOC, 100% of sulfide and 82.6 ± 0.9% of total nitrogen were removed, achieving a sulfur production percentage of 35.1 ± 4.4% and a coulombic efficiency of 53.0 ± 2.2%. Cathodic nitrogen removal was catalyzed by denitrifiers, nitrifiers and anammox bacteria. This work provided a novel approach for simultaneously removing organics, sulfide and ammonium coupled with electricity generation from wastewater.

A novel start-up strategy for mixotrophic denitrification biofilters by rhamnolipid and its performance on denitrification of low C/N wastewater

A novel start-up strategy for sulfur-based mixotrophic denitrification biofilters (mDNBFs) by rhamnolipid was investigated for the first time. Rhamnolipid with gradient concentrations (0-120 mg/L) was added into five lab-scale mDNBFs. Results showed that rhamnolipid could promote biomass yield and nitrogen removal rate (NRR) by 71.7% and 68.7%, respectively, while its effect on EPS and adhesion force was concentration-dependent. The spatial distribution characteristics of microbial communities demonstrated the enrichment of main heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria outcompeted that of the autotrophs, with a more pronounced difference in high concentration rhamnolipid-treated mDNBFs. Furthermore, highest abundance of napA, narG, nirK and nosZ genes was observed in 80 mg/L rhamnolipid-treated mDNBF. Interfacial processes including solubilizing effect and hydration repulse and variations of organics were discussed to explicate the underlying mechanism. The study enlightened that an appropriate concentration (∼80 mg/L) of rhamnolipid may be a good solution for accelerating biofilm formation and enriching denitrifying bacteria to promote denitrification performance of mDNBFs treating low C/N wastewater.

Nitrogen removal pathway and dynamics of microbial community with the increase of salinity in simultaneous nitrification and denitrification process

In this study, simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) process was successfully established in a hybrid sequencing batch biofilm reactor (HSBBR). High removal efficiency of NH₄⁺-N (98.0±2.4% to 99.8±0.4%) and COD (86.6±4.0% to 91.6±1.8%) was observed in the salinity range of 0.0 to 2.4%. SND via nitrite, replacing SND via nitrate, became the main nitrogen removal pathway at 1.6% and 2.4% salinity. Suspended sludge and biofilm shared similar microbial composition. Dominant genera were substituted by salt-adaptable microbes as salinity increasing. Abundance of autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrosomonas) increased with elevated salinity, while autotrophic nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrospira) exhibited extreme sensitivity to salinity. The presence of Gemmata demonstrated that heterotrophic nitrification co-existed with autotrophic nitrification in the SND process. Aerobic denitrifiers (Denitratisoma and Thauera) were also identified. Thiothrix, Sedimenticola, Sulfuritalea, Arcobacter (sulfide-based autotrophic denitrifier) and Hydrogenophaga (hydrogen-based autotrophic denitrifier) were detected in both S-sludge and biofilm. The occurrence of ANAMMOX bacteria Pirellula and Planctomyces indicated that ANAMMOX process was another pathway for nitrogen removal. Nitrogen removal in the HSBBR was accomplished via diverse pathways, including traditional autotrophic nitrification/heterotrophic denitrification, heterotrophic nitrification, aerobic and autotrophic denitrification, and ANAMMOX.

Simultaneous sulfide removal, nitrogen removal and electricity generation in a coupled microbial fuel cell system

A coupled microbial fuel cell (MFC) system, consisting of a nitrifying sulfide removal MFC and a denitrifying sulfide removal MFC, was assembled to simultaneously treat ammonium and sulfide in wastewater. It provided a promising approach to recover electricity from wastewater containing sulfide and ammonium. Considering both substrate removal and electricity generation performance, the desirable feeding S/N molar ratio was deemed as 3 and the optimal temperature was found to be 30 °C. Under this condition, the coupled MFC achieved a sum coulomb production of 554.8 C/d, a total nitrogen removal efficiency of 58.7 ± 1.3% and a sulfur production percent of 27.4 ± 0.4-33.3 ± 0.9%. The introduction of nitrifiers and electroactive oxic microbes from the oxic-cathode chamber into the anoxic-cathode chamber favored nitrogen removal.

High-efficiency salt, sulfate and nitrogen removal and microbial community in biocathode microbial desalination cell for mustard tuber wastewater treatment

Considering there is no study involving simultaneous salt, sulfate and nitrogen removal from high-salinity mustard tuber wastewater (MTWW), biocathode microbial desalination cell (BMDC) was first constructed and used to treat MTWW. The results showed that 97.4% of salt, 99.7% of sulfate and 99.8% of nitrogen could be removed from MTWW. The relative abundances of electrgenic bacteria in anode and cathode were 15.95% and 15.10%, respectively, which greatly promoted the electricity generation and desalination. The bacteria involved in sulfate reduction in anode were the dominant population, with relative abundance of 13.94%. Microbial community analysis of cathode biofilm indicated that autotrophic nitrification-anaerobic denitrification, electrochemical reduction and anaerobic ammonium oxidation might coexist for high-efficiency nitrogen removal. Besides, the BMDC showed stable power output for 150 days. These findings provide a promising approach for efficient treatment of MTWW.