The application and progress of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) in soil remediation: A review

Soil pollution endangers human health and ecological balance,which is why finding a highly efficient way to deal with pollutants is necessary.Biological method is an environmentally friendly treatment method.Bioelectrochemical systems(BESs),which combine electrochemistry with biological methods,have been widely used to remediate polluted environments,including wastewater,sludge,sediment,and soil.In BESs,redox reactions occur on electrodes with electroactive bacteria,which convert pollutants into low-polluting or nonpolluting substances.With BESs being a promising technology in the remediation field,the decontamination mechanisms and applications in soil conducted by BESs have attracted much attention.Therefore,to better understand the research progress of BESs,this paper mainly summarizes the mechanism of different classified BESs.The applications of microbial fuel cells(MFCs)in four pollutants(petroleum,heavy metals,pesticides,antibiotics)and the possible applications of microbial electrolysis cells(MECs)in soil are discussed.The main problems in BESs and possible future development directions are also evaluated.

Effects of cathode potentials and nitrate concentrations on dissimilatory nitrate reductions by Pseudomonas alcaliphila in bioelectrochemical systems

The effects of cathode potentials and initial nitrate concentrations on nitrate reduction in bio- electrochemical systems （BESs） were reported. These factors could partition nitrate reduction between denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium （DNRA）. Pseudomonas alcaliphilastrain MBR utilized an electrode as the sole electron donor and nitrate as the sole electron acceptor. When the cathode potential was set from -0.3 to -I.1 V （vs. Ag/AgC1） at an initial nitrate concentration of 100 mg NO^-N/L, the DNRA electron recovery increased from （10.76 ± 1.6）% to （35.06 ± 0.99）%; the denitrification electron recovery decreased from （63.42 ± 1,32）% to （44.33 ± 1.92）%. When the initial nitrate concentration increased from （29.09 ± 0.24） to （490.97 ± 3.49） mg NO3-N/L at the same potential （-0.9 V）, denitrification electron recovery increased from （5.88 ± 1.08）% to （50.19 ±2.59）%; the DNRA electron recovery declined from （48.79 ±1.32）% to （16.02 ± 1.41）%. The prevalence of DNRA occurred at high ratios of electron donors to acceptors in the BESs and denitrification prevailed against DNRA under a lower ratio of electron donors to acceptors. These results had a potential application value of regulating the transformation of nitrate to N2 or ammonium in BESs for nitrate removal.

Progress in plant-based bioelectrochemical systems and their connection with sustainable development goals

Living organisms’energy conversion is considered as an essential and sustainable green energy source and future bio-hybrid technologies.Recently,plants were used after harvesting as biomass in bio-fermentation as an energy source.In bio-electrochemical systems,microorganisms work with plants to generate electricity,hydrogen,or methane.This work discusses the simultaneous pollutant removal and electricity generation in plant-based bio-electrochemical systems(P-BES).Factors affecting the P-BES performance and the removal efficiencies of the different organic and inorganic pollutants were illustrated.Furthermore,the plant-based bioelectrochemical systems’role in achieving the sustainable development goals(SDGs)was discussed.The SDGs contribution of plant-based bioelectrochemical systems were presented and discussed to evaluate such systems’ability to achieve the three pillars of sustainable development,i.e.,economic,environmental,and social.

Direct ammonium oxidation to nitrogen gas (Dirammox) in Alcaligenes strain HO-1: The electrode role

It has been recently suggested that Alcaligenes use a previously unknown pathway to convert ammonium into dinitrogen gas(Dirammox)via hydroxylamine(NH2OH).This fact alone already implies a significant decrease in the aeration requirements for the process,but the process would still be dependent on external aeration.This work studied the potential use of a polarised electrode as an electron acceptor for ammonium oxidation using the recently described Alcaligenes strain HO-1 as a model heterotrophic nitrifier.Results indicated that Alcaligenes strain HO-1 requires aeration for metabolism,a requirement that cannot be replaced for a polarised electrode alone.However,concomitant elimination of succinate and ammonium was observed when operating a previously grown Alcaligenes strain HO-1 culture in the presence of a polarised electrode and without aeration.The usage of a polarised electrode together with aeration did not increase the succinate nor the nitrogen removal rates observed with aeration alone.However,current density generation was observed along a feeding batch test representing an electron share of 3%of the ammonium removed in the presence of aeration and 16%without aeration.Additional tests suggested that hydroxylamine oxidation to dinitrogen gas could have a relevant role in the electron discharge onto the anode.Therefore,the presence of a polarised electrode supported the metabolic functions of Alcaligenes strain HO-1 on the simultaneous oxidation of succinate and ammonium.

Immobilisation of electrochemically active bacteria on screen-printed electrodes for rapid in situ toxicity biosensing

are time-consuming and not sensitive enough.However,bacteria typically connect to electrodes through biofilm formation,leading to problems due to lack of uniformity or long device production times.A suitable immobilisation technique can overcome these challenges.Still,they may respond more slowly than biofilm-based electrodes because bacteria gradually adapt to electron transfer during biofilm formation.In this study,we propose a controlled and reproducible way to fabricate bacteria-modified electrodes.The method consists of an immobilisation step using a cellulose matrix,followed by an electrode polarization in the presence of ferricyanide and glucose.Our process is short,reproducible and led us to obtain ready-to-use electrodes featuring a high-current response.An excellent shelf-life of the immobilised electrochemically active bacteria was demonstrated for up to one year.After an initial 50% activity loss in the first month,no further declines have been observed over the following 11 months.We implemented our bacteria-modified electrodes to fabricate a lateral flow platform for toxicity monitoring using formaldehyde(3%).Its addition led to a 59% current decrease approximately 20 min after the toxic input.The methods presented here offer the ability to develop a high sensitivity,easy to produce,and long shelf life bacteria-based toxicity detectors.