Sulfate-reducing mixed communities with the ability to generate bioelectricity and degrade textile diazo dye in microbial fuel cells

The biotreatment of recalcitrant wastes in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) rather than chemical, physical, and advanced oxidation processes is a low-cost and eco-friendly process. In this study, sulfate-reducing mixed communities in MFC anodic chamber were employed for simultaneous electricity generation, dye degradation, and sulfate reduction. A power generation of 258 ± 10 mW/m² was achieved under stable operating conditions in the presence of electroactive sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). The SRBs dominant anodic chambers result in dye, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and sulfate removal of greater than 85% at an initial COD (as lactate)/SO₄²⁻ mass ratio of 2.0 and dye concentration of 100 mg/L. The effects of the COD/SO₄²⁻ ratio (5.0:1.0–0.5:1.0) and initial diazo dye concentration (100–1000 mg/L) were studied to evaluate and optimize the MFC performance. Illumina Miseq technology for bacterial community analysis showed that Proteobacteria (89.4%), Deltaproteobacteria (52.7%), and Desulfovibrio (48.2%) were most dominant at phylum, class, and genus levels, respectively, at the MFC anode. Integration of anaerobic SRB culture in MFC bioanode for recalcitrant chemical removal and bioenergy generation may lead to feasible option than the currently used technologies in terms of overall pollutant treatment.