Biofilm metagenomic characteristics behind high coulombic efficiency for propanethiol deodorization in two-phase partitioning microbial fuel cell

Jian Yu; Juping You; Piet N L Lens; Lichao Lu; Yaxue He; Zhenyi Ji; Jianmeng Chen; Zhuowei Cheng; Dongzhi Chen

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2023.120677

Biofilm metagenomic characteristics behind high coulombic efficiency for propanethiol deodorization in two-phase partitioning microbial fuel cell

Water Res. 2023 Nov 1:246:120677. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120677. Epub 2023 Sep 28.

Authors

Jian Yu¹, Juping You², Piet N L Lens³, Lichao Lu⁴, Yaxue He⁴, Zhenyi Ji¹, Jianmeng Chen⁵, Zhuowei Cheng⁶, Dongzhi Chen⁷

Affiliations

¹ Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China; College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
² Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China. Electronic address: youjp@zjou.edu.cn.
³ National University of Ireland, Galway H91TK33, Ireland.
⁴ Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China.
⁵ College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China; School of Environment and Natural Resources, Zhejiang University of Science & Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China.
⁶ College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
⁷ Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China. Electronic address: cdz@zjut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37827037
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120677

Abstract

Hydrophobic volatile organic sulfur compounds (VOSCs) are frequently found during sewage treatment, and their effective management is crucial for reducing malodorous complaints. Microbial fuel cells (MFC) are effective for both VOSCs abatement and energy recovery. However, the performance of MFC on VOSCs remains limited by the mass transfer efficiency of MFC in aqueous media. Inspired by two-phase partitioning biotechnology, silicone oil was introduced for the first time into MFC as a non-aqueous phase (NAP) medium to construct two-phase partitioning microbial fuel cell (TPPMFC) and augment the mass transfer of target VOSCs of propanethiol (PT) in the liquid phase. The PT removal efficiency within 32 h increased by 11-20% compared with that of single-phase MFC, and the coulombic efficiency of TPPMFC (11.01%) was 4.32-2.68 times that of single-phase MFC owing to the fact that highly active desulfurization and thiol-degrading bacteria (e.g., Pseudomonas, Achromobacter) were attached to the silicone oil surface, whereas sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (e.g., Thiobacillus, Commonas, Ottowia) were dominant on the anodic biofilm. The outer membrane cytochrome-c content and NADH dehydrogenase activity improved by 4.15 and 3.36 times in the TPPMFC, respectively. The results of metagenomics by KEGG and COG confirmed that the metabolism of PT in TPPMFC was comprehensive, and that the addition of a NAP upregulates the expression of genes related to sulfur metabolism, energy generation, and amino acid synthesis. This finding indicates that the NAP assisted bioelectrochemical systems would be promising to solve mass-transfer restrictions in low solubility contaminates removal.

Keywords: Coulombic efficiency; Metagenomics; Microbial fuel cells; Two-phase partitioning; VOSCs.

MeSH terms

Bioelectric Energy Sources* / microbiology
Biofilms
Electricity
Electrodes
Silicone Oils
Sulfhydryl Compounds
Sulfur

Substances

propanethiol
Silicone Oils
Sulfhydryl Compounds
Sulfur