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Microbial community structure in a dual chamber microbial fuel cell fed with brewery waste for azo dye degradation and electricity generation

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Abstract

The expansion in knowledge of the microbial community structure can play a vital role in the electrochemical features and operation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, bacterial community composition in a dual chamber MFC fed with brewery waste was investigated for simultaneous electricity generation and azo dye degradation. A stable voltage was generated with a maximum power density of 305 and 269 mW m−2 for brewery waste alone (2000 mg L−1) and after the azo dye (200 mg L−1) addition, respectively. Azo dye degradation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) as peak corresponding to –N=N– (azo) bond disappeared in the dye metabolites. Microbial communities attached to the anode were analyzed by high-throughput 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Microbial community composition analysis revealed that Proteobacteria (67.3 %), Betaproteobacteria (30.8 %), and Desulfovibrio (18.3 %) were the most dominant communities at phylum, class, and genus level, respectively. Among the classified genera, Desulfovibrio most likely plays a major role in electron transfer to the anode since its outer membrane contains c-type cytochromes. At the genus level, 62.3 % of all sequences belonged to the unclassified category indicating a high level of diversity of microbial groups in MFCs fed with brewery waste and azo dye.

Highlights

• Azo dye degradation and stable bioelectricity generation was achieved in the MFC.

• Anodic biofilm was analyzed by high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene.

Desulfovibrio (18.3 %) was the dominant genus in the classified genera.

• Of the genus, 62.3 % were unclassified, thereby indicating highly diverse microbes.

A schematic diagram of a dual chamber microbial fuel cell for azo dye degradation and current generation (with microbial communities at anode electrode)

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Human Resource Training Program for Regional Innovation and Creativity through the Ministry of Education and National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea (NRF-2014H1C1A1066929). This study was also supported by grants (NRF-2013R1A1A4A01008000 and NRF-2009-0093819) through the ME and NRF of Korea. This research was also supported by the NRF grant by the Korea government (MSIP) (NRF-2015M2A7A1000194).

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Correspondence to Dae Sung Lee.

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Responsible editor: Bingcai Pan

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Miran, W., Nawaz, M., Kadam, A. et al. Microbial community structure in a dual chamber microbial fuel cell fed with brewery waste for azo dye degradation and electricity generation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 13477–13485 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4582-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4582-8

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