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Unveiling characteristics of a bioelectrochemical system with polarity reversion for simultaneous azo dye treatment and bioelectricity generation

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

A novel bioelectrochemical system (BES) operated with polarity reversion was explored for simultaneous anaerobic/aerobic treatment of azo dye and production of bioelectricity under extremely low buffer. The Congo red was first decolorized in anode, with completed color removal in 35 h. The resultant decolorization intermediates were then mineralized after the anode reversed to aerobic biocathode, evidenced by 55 % chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal in 200 h. The mineralization efficiency was further increased to 70 % when the period of the half-cycle was prolonged to 375 h. Meanwhile, the BES produced a continuous stable positive/negative alternate voltage output under 5 mM phosphate buffer because of the self-neutralization of the accumulated protons and hydroxyl ions in electrolyte. The electrode performance was significantly improved, which was indicated by alleviated electrode polarization, due to in situ use of accumulated protons and hydroxyl ions and enhanced electron transfer in the presence of Congo red and its degradation intermediates, which resulted in 1.05-fold increases in maximum power density (67.5 vs. 32.9 mW/m2). An analysis of the microbial diversity in the biofilm revealed that the biofilm was dominated by facultative bacteria with functional roles in contaminant degradation and electricity generation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the financial support provided by the National Natural Science Fund of China (No. 51108186) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2014ZZ0018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    Jian Sun, Yaping Zhang, Guoguang Liu, Xunan Ning, Yujie Wang & Jingyong Liu

  2. State Key Lab of Pulp and Paper Engineering, College of Light Industry and Food Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, People’s Republic of China

    Jian Sun

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  1. Jian Sun
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  2. Yaping Zhang
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  3. Guoguang Liu
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  4. Xunan Ning
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  6. Jingyong Liu
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Correspondence to Jian Sun.

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Supplementary

UV-visible spectra data for the decolorization liuquid in the bicathode reversed from previous anode, membrane transport of main cations in the BES during polarity reversion, and electrochemical impedance spectra and cyclic voltammograms of the bioelectrodes before and after polarity reversion are shown in Figure S1-4. (PDF 279 kb)

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Sun, J., Zhang, Y., Liu, G. et al. Unveiling characteristics of a bioelectrochemical system with polarity reversion for simultaneous azo dye treatment and bioelectricity generation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 7295–7305 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6614-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6614-1

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