Effects of chemical oxygen demand/nitrogen on electrochemical performances and denitrification efficiency in single-chamber microbial fuel cells: Insights from electron transfer and bacterial communities

Abstract

The electrochemical performances and denitrification efficiency of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are often limited by chemical oxygen demand/nitrogen (COD/N) of wastewater. To overcome this limitation, single-chamber air cathode MFCs with varying COD/N (16/1, 8/1, and 4/1) were established to investigate their electrochemical performances, denitrification efficiency, and bacterial communities. The optimal COD/N for maximizing electricity generation and denitrification efficiency was 8/1, as supported by the greatest corrected coulomb efficiency (13.6%) and electron transfer rate (2.36 C/h for electricity generation, 39.77 C/h for denitrification). As COD/N decreased, the electrochemically active genus Geobacter was replaced by the denitrifying genera Un._f_Burkholderiaceae, Dechlorosoma, and Petrimonas. These results indicated that the efficiency of electricity generation and denitrification was not solely determined by the abundance of electrochemically active and denitrifying bacteria. The presence of a faster electron transfer pathway, possibly direct interspecies electron transfer, enhanced simultaneous electricity generation and denitrification in MFCs with COD/N of 8/1.