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Abstract
A microbial fuel cell and anaerobic-aerobic sequential reactor coupled system was
used for azo dye degradation with simultaneous electricity production. Electricity
was produced during the co-metabolism process of glucose and azo dye. A microorganism
cultured graphite-granular cathode effectively decreased the charge transfer resistance
of the cathode and yielded higher power density. Operation parameters including glucose
concentration and hydraulic retention time were optimized. The results indicated that
recovering electricity during a sequential aerobic-anaerobic azo dye treatment process
enhanced chemical oxygen demand removal and did not decrease azo dye removal. Moreover,
UV-vis spectra and GC-MS illustrated that the azo bond was cleaved biologically in
the anaerobic chamber and abiotically in the aerobic chamber. The toxic intermediates,
aromatic amines, were removed by aerobic treatment. Our work demonstrated that the
microbial fuel cell and sequential anode-cathode reactor coupled system could be applied
to achieve electricity production with simultaneous azo dye degradation.
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