Rapid degradation of 2,4-dichloronitrobenzene in single-chamber microbial electrolysis cell with pre-acclimated bioanode: A comprehensive assessment

Yang Liu; Chen Wang; Kaiji Zhang; Yuran Zhou; Yilan Xu; Xiangyang Xu; Liang Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138053

Rapid degradation of 2,4-dichloronitrobenzene in single-chamber microbial electrolysis cell with pre-acclimated bioanode: A comprehensive assessment

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jul 1:724:138053. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138053. Epub 2020 Mar 19.

Authors

Yang Liu¹, Chen Wang¹, Kaiji Zhang², Yuran Zhou³, Yilan Xu⁴, Xiangyang Xu⁵, Liang Zhu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environment Pollution Control and Treatment, Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
³ Monash University, Wellington Rd, Clayton Vlc3800, Melbourne, Australia.
⁴ Haining Water Investment Group Co., Ltd, Haining 314400, China.
⁵ Institute of Environment Pollution Control and Treatment, Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Environmental Safety, Hangzhou 310058, China.
⁶ Institute of Environment Pollution Control and Treatment, Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Environmental Safety, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: felix79cn@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 32247974
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138053

Abstract

2,4-dichloronitrobenzene (DClNB) as a typical refractory pollutant, exists in multifarious industrial wastewater widely and poses a serious threat to the environment. An ion exchange membrane (IEM)-free microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) with pre-acclimated bioanode was built and evaluated systematically for treatment of DClNB containing wastewater. Results showed that compared with the non-acclimated or IEM-equipped MECs, the pre-acclimated IEM-free MECs had the best DClNB removal efficiency of 91.3% under COD and DClNB loading rates of nearly 1000 kg m^-3 d^-1 and 100 g m^-3 d^-1. Both of anode pre-acclimation and IEM removal reduced the electron transfer resistance by 71.1 and 194.5 Ω, respectively. Compared to the pre-acclimated IEM-equipped MEC, the cathode current efficiency of pre-acclimated IEM-free MEC increased by 13.7%. Analysis of live/dead cell staining indicated that a higher proportion of live cells was observed in the acclimated anode biofilm (66.1% vs. 47.3%), and the detoxification of DClNB in the pre-acclimated IEM-free MECs was significantly better (p < 0.05) than those of non-acclimated or IEM-equipped MECs. This study contributes to the performance improvement of the MEC process for treatment of toxic industrial wastewater.

Keywords: Chloronitrobenzene (ClNB); Electron transfer resistance; Ion exchange membrane (IEM)-free; Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC); Pre-acclimation.

MeSH terms

Acclimatization
Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Electrodes
Electrolysis*
Hydrogen
Nitrobenzenes
Wastewater

Substances

Nitrobenzenes
Waste Water
Hydrogen
2,4-dichloro-1-nitrobenzene