Bio-electrochemical enhancement of anaerobic reduction of nitrobenzene and its effects on microbial community

Abstract Nitrobenzene (NB) is listed as a priority pollutant in many countries due to its high toxicity and environmental risk. In this study, a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) combined anaerobic reactor with a pair of Fe – carbon electrodes (R1) was designed to reduce NB to less-toxic and biodegradable aniline (AN). Applying a voltage of 0.5 V in R1 enhanced the NB reduction, AN production, and COD removal comparing to the reference reactors. Raising voltage from 0.5 to 1.2 V improved the conversion of NB to AN. The assistance of MEC intensified Fe 2+ leaching and accelerated the process of sludge granulation. As compared with abiotic electrode, the cathode of R1 presented higher value of NB reduction rate constant ( k ). Real-time PCR and cloning sequencing analysis showed that the abundances of bacteria and methanogens were significantly higher than that of reference reactor, in which some species capable of reducing NB were dominant in R1.

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