Removal of sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline in constructed wetlands integrated with microbial fuel cells influenced by influent and operational conditions

Huiyang Wen; Hui Zhu; Yingying Xu; Baixing Yan; Brian Shutes; Gary Bañuelos; Xinyi Wang

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115988

Removal of sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline in constructed wetlands integrated with microbial fuel cells influenced by influent and operational conditions

Environ Pollut. 2021 Mar 1:272:115988. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115988. Epub 2020 Nov 10.

Authors

Huiyang Wen¹, Hui Zhu², Yingying Xu³, Baixing Yan⁴, Brian Shutes⁵, Gary Bañuelos⁶, Xinyi Wang⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, PR China; Jilin Provincial Engineering Center of CWs Design in Cold Region & Beautiful Country Construction, Changchun, 130102, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China. Electronic address: why19900418@126.com.
² Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, PR China; Jilin Provincial Engineering Center of CWs Design in Cold Region & Beautiful Country Construction, Changchun, 130102, PR China. Electronic address: zhuhui@iga.ac.cn.
³ Key Laboratory of Songliao Aquatic Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University, 5088 Xincheng Street, Changchun, 130118, PR China. Electronic address: xuyingying.1019@aliyun.com.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, PR China; Jilin Provincial Engineering Center of CWs Design in Cold Region & Beautiful Country Construction, Changchun, 130102, PR China. Electronic address: yanbx@iga.ac.cn.
⁵ Department of Natural Sciences, Middlesex University, Hendon, London, NW4 4BT, UK. Electronic address: b.shutes@mdx.ac.uk.
⁶ USDA, Agricultural Research Service, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, 9611 South Riverbend Avenue, Parlier, CA, 93648-9757, USA. Electronic address: Gary.Banuelos@ARS.USDA.GOV.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, PR China; Jilin Provincial Engineering Center of CWs Design in Cold Region & Beautiful Country Construction, Changchun, 130102, PR China. Electronic address: wangxy0331@126.com.

PMID: 33218779
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115988

Abstract

Constructed wetlands integrated with microbial fuel cells (MFC-CWs) have been recently developed and tested for removing antibiotics. However, the effects of carbon source availability, electron transfer flux and cathode conditions on antibiotics removal in MFC-CWs through co-metabolism remained unclear. In this study, four experiments were conducted in MFC-CW microcosms to investigate the influence of carbon source species and concentrations, external resistance and aeration duration on sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and tetracycline (TC) removal and bioelectricity generation performance. MFC-CWs supplied with glucose as carbon source outperformed other carbon sources, and moderate influent glucose concentration (200 mg L^-1) resulted in the best removal of both SMX and TC. Highest removal percentages of SMX (99.4%) and TC (97.8%) were obtained in MFC-CWs with the external resistance of 700 Ω compared to other external resistance treatments. SMX and TC removal percentages in MFC-CWs were improved by 4.98% and 4.34%, respectively, by increasing the aeration duration to 12 h compared to no aeration. For bioelectricity generation performance, glucose outperformed sodium acetate, sucrose and starch, with the highest voltages of 386 ± 20 mV, maximum power density (MPD) of 123.43 mW m^-3, and coulombic efficiency (CE) of 0.273%. Increasing carbon source concentrations from 100 to 400 mg L^-1, significantly (p < 0.05) increased the voltage and MPD, but decreased the internal resistance and CE. The highest MPD was obtained when the external resistance (700 Ω) was close to the internal resistance (600.11 Ω). Aeration not only improved the voltage and MPD, but also reduced the internal resistance. This study demonstrates that carbon source species and concentrations, external resistances and aeration duration, all play vital roles in regulating SMX and TC removal in MFC-CWs.

Keywords: Bioelectricity generation; Constructed wetlands; Microbial fuel cells; Sulfamethoxazole; Tetracycline.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Electrodes
Sulfamethoxazole
Wastewater
Wetlands

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Waste Water
Sulfamethoxazole