Organic carbon compounds removal and phosphate immobilization for internal pollution control: Sediment microbial fuel cells, a prospect technology

Zhenzhen Hu; Qinqin He; Hongjun Zhao; Lingjun Wang; Yuxin Cheng; Xiaonan Ji; Yali Guo; Wei Hu; Min Li

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125110

Organic carbon compounds removal and phosphate immobilization for internal pollution control: Sediment microbial fuel cells, a prospect technology

Environ Pollut. 2024 Oct 10:125110. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125110. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhenzhen Hu¹, Qinqin He¹, Hongjun Zhao¹, Lingjun Wang¹, Yuxin Cheng¹, Xiaonan Ji², Yali Guo², Wei Hu², Min Li³

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Key Lab for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Engineering Research Center for Water Pollution Source Control & Eco-remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
² Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200335, China; YANGTZE Eco-Environment Engineering Research Center (Shanghai), China Three Gorges Corporation, Shanghai 200335, China.
³ Beijing Key Lab for Source Control Technology of Water Pollution, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Engineering Research Center for Water Pollution Source Control & Eco-remediation, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: minli@bjfu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39395732
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125110

Abstract

As a current technology that can effectively remove organic carbon compounds and immobilize phosphorus in sediment, sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) can combine sediment remediation with power generation. This review discusses the removal efficiency of SMFCs on organic carbon compounds, including sediment organic matter, antibiotics, oil-contaminated sediments, methane, persistent organic pollutants, and other organic pollutants in sediment, with more comprehensive and targeted summaries, and it also emphasizes the mitigation of phosphorus pollution in water from the perspective of controlling endogenous phosphorus. In this review, the microbial community is used as a starting point to explore more about its roles on phosphorus and organic carbon compounds under SMFCs. Electrode modification, addition of exogenous substances and combinations with other technologies to improve the performance of SMFCs are also reviewed. It is further demonstrated that SMFCs have the prospect of long-term sustainability, but more attention needs to be paid to the study of the mechanism of SMFCs and the continuous improvement of devices for further application in practice.

Keywords: Organic carbon compounds; Phosphorus; Sediment bioremediation; Sediment microbial fuel cells.

Publication types

Review