Exogenous paths regulate electron transfer enhancing sediment phosphorus immobilization

Abstract

The lack of electron acceptors in anaerobic sediments leads to endogenous phosphorus release and low removal efficiency of organic pollutants. This study introduced electrodes and iron oxides into sediments to construct electron network transport chains to supplement electron acceptors. The sediment total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies of closed-circuit (CC) and closed-circuit with Fe addition (CC-Fe) were estimated to be 1.4 and 1.7 times of the control. Unlike the fluctuation of phosphorus in the overlying water of the controls, the CC-Fe was stabled at 0.04–0.08 mg/L during the 84-d operation. The phosphorus in interstitial water of CC-Fe was 30 % less than in control, whereas in sediment, the redox sensitive phosphorus was increased by 14 %, indicating phosphorus was preferred to fix into sediments rather than interstitial water. This is important to reduce the risk of endogenous phosphorus returning to the overlying water. Microbial community analysis showed that the multiplication of Fonticella in CC-Fe (20 %) was 1.8-fold of control (11 %) which improved the TOC removal efficiency. While electroactive microorganisms accumulated near the electrode reduced the abundance of Fe-reducing bacteria, such as Desulfitobacterium (2.4 %), leading to better phosphorus fixation. These findings suggest a strategy for the efficient bioremediation of endogenous pollution in water, with broader implications for regulating electron transport paths and element cycles in aquatic environments.