Response of different plants to ecological floating bed-microbial fuel cells: Decontamination and power generation

Abstract

Screening suitable plants that can facilitate decontamination and sustainably harvest electricity plays a crucial role in phyto-power integrated with bioelectrochemical systems (BES). Here, four plant-integrated microbial fuel cell (PMFCs) were assembled to assess decontamination and power generation performance within micro-contaminated water. The results demonstrated the Hydrocotyle vulgaris L.-MFC exhibited exceptional performance, achieving optimal removal rates of 53.17% for COD, 88.35% for TN, 80.51% for NO3−-N, 98.56% for NO2−-N, and 99.89% for NH4+-N, respectively. The same tendency is observed for power generation performance. It is attributed that plant introduction could enhance the enrichment of the exoelectrogen in the rhizosphere. Furthermore, the dominant functional bacteria such as Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, Bacteroidota and Chloroflexi contributing to nitrogen cycle, autotrophic denitrification, and organic matters degradation were observed in PMFCs significantly more than that of single MFC. The present study could provide brandnew technique reference for micro-polluted water remediation in real-world scenarios.