Combination of partial nitrification and microbial fuel cell for simultaneous ammonia reduction, organic removal, and energy recovery

Linjie Gao; Dong Wei; Sherif Ismail; Zhibin Wang; Amro El-Baz; Shou-Qing Ni

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129558

Combination of partial nitrification and microbial fuel cell for simultaneous ammonia reduction, organic removal, and energy recovery

Bioresour Technol. 2023 Oct:386:129558. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129558. Epub 2023 Jul 26.

Authors

Linjie Gao¹, Dong Wei², Sherif Ismail³, Zhibin Wang⁴, Amro El-Baz⁵, Shou-Qing Ni⁶

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, China; School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China.
² School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China. Electronic address: weidong506@163.com.
³ Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, China; Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt.
⁴ School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, China.
⁵ Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt.
⁶ Shandong Key Laboratory of Environmental Processes and Health, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong 266237, China. Electronic address: sqni@sdu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37499920
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129558

Abstract

The chemical oxygen demand (COD) in municipal wastewater has become an obstacle for anammox in mainstream applications. In this study, the single chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) was installed as an influent device for a partial nitrification-sequencing batch reactor (PN-SBR) to realize integrating COD removal and partial nitrification. After 80 days of operation, the nitrite accumulation rate reached 93%, while the COD removal efficiency was 56%. The output voltage and the power density of MFC were 66.62 mV and 2.40 W/m³, respectively. The content of EPS, especially polysaccharides in the stable phase, has increased compared with the seed sludge. The most dominant genus in MFC anode biofilm and SBR granular sludge was Thauera, which has organic compounds degradation capacity and could degrade nitrate. This study revealed the microbial interaction between MFC and partial nitrification and provided a new strategy for stable ammonia and nitrite supply for mainstream anammox plants.

Keywords: Bioelectrochemical systems; Energy recovery; Microbial Fuel Cells; Microbial network; Partial Nitrification.

MeSH terms

Ammonia
Bioelectric Energy Sources*
Bioreactors
Denitrification
Nitrification*
Nitrites
Nitrogen
Oxidation-Reduction
Sewage

Substances

Sewage
Ammonia
Nitrites
Nitrogen