Chlorinated phenol treatment and in situ hydrogen peroxide production in a sulfate-reducing bacteria enriched bioelectrochemical system

Wastewaters are increasingly being considered as renewable resources for the sustainable production of electricity, fuels, and chemicals. In recent years, bioelectrochemical treatment has come to light as a prospective technology for the production of energy from wastewaters. In this study, a bioelectrochemical system (BES) enriched with sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in the anodic chamber was proposed and evaluated for the biodegradation of recalcitrant chlorinated phenol, electricity generation (in the microbial fuel cell (MFC)), and production of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) (in the microbial electrolysis cell (MEC)), which is a very strong oxidizing agent and often used for the degradation of complex organics. Maximum power generation of 253.5 mW/m², corresponding to a current density of 712.0 mA/m², was achieved in the presence of a chlorinated phenol pollutant (4-chlorophenol (4-CP) at 100 mg/L (0.78 mM)) and lactate (COD of 500 mg/L). In the anodic chamber, biodegradation of 4-CP was not limited to dechlorination, and further degradation of one of its metabolic products (phenol) was observed. In MEC operation mode, external voltage (0.2, 0.4, or 0.6 V) was added via a power supply, with 0.4 V producing the highest concentration of H₂O₂ (13.3 g/L-m² or 974 μM) in the cathodic chamber after 6 h of operation. Consequently, SRB-based bioelectrochemical technology can be applied for chlorinated pollutant biodegradation in the anodic chamber and either net current or H₂O₂ production in the cathodic chamber by applying an optimum external voltage.