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Enhanced 4-chlorophenol biodegradation by integrating Fe2O3 nanoparticles into an anaerobic reactor: Long-term performance and underlying mechanism

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Abstract

Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been reported to enhance the dechlorination performance of anaerobic systems, but the underlying mechanism has not been clarified. This study evaluated the technical feasibility, system stability, microbial biodiversity and the underlying mechanism involved in a Fe2O3 nanoparticle-coupled anaerobic system treating 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) wastewater. The results demonstrated that the 4-CP and total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies in the Fe2O3-coupled up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) were always higher than 97% and 90% during long-term operation, verifying the long-term stability of the Fe2O3-coupled UASB. The 4-CP and TOC removal efficiencies in the coupled UASB increased by 42.9±0.4% and 27.5±0.7% compared to the control UASB system. Adding Fe2O3 nanoparticles promoted the enrichment of species involved in dechlorination, fermentation, electron transfer and acetoclastic methanogenesis, and significantly enhanced the extracellular electron transfer ability, electron transport activity and conductivity of anaerobic sludge, leading to enhanced 4-CP biodegradation performance. A possible synergistic mechanism involved in enhanced anaerobic 4-CP biodegradation by Fe2O3 nanoparticles was proposed.

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Acknowledgements

This research is financed by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20170038) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51778294 and 51708295).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, School of Environmental and Biological Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China

    Cheng Hou, Xinbai Jiang, Na Li, Jinyou Shen & Xiaodong Liu

  2. Key Laboratory of Biosafety, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Nanjing, 210042, China

    Zhenhua Zhang

  3. School of Life and Environmental Science, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, 541004, China

    Qian Zhang

Authors
  1. Cheng Hou
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  2. Xinbai Jiang
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  3. Na Li
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  4. Zhenhua Zhang
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  5. Qian Zhang
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  6. Jinyou Shen
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  7. Xiaodong Liu
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Correspondence to Na Li or Xiaodong Liu.

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Highlights

• 4-chlorophenol biodegradation could be enhanced in Fe2O3 coupled anaerobic system.

• Metabolic activity and electron transport could be improved by Fe2O3 nanoparticles.

• Functional microbial communities could be enriched in coupled anaerobic system.

• Possible synergistic mechanism involved in enhanced dechlorination was proposed.

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11783_2022_1519_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Enhanced 4-chlorophenol biodegradation by integrating Fe2O3 nanoparticles into an anaerobic reactor: long-term performance and underlying mechanism

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Hou, C., Jiang, X., Li, N. et al. Enhanced 4-chlorophenol biodegradation by integrating Fe2O3 nanoparticles into an anaerobic reactor: Long-term performance and underlying mechanism. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 16, 98 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-022-1519-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-022-1519-6

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