Forming microbial anodes with acetate addition decreases their capability to treat raw paper mill effluent

Françoise Ketep (1, 2) , Alain Bergel (2) , Marie Bertrand-Huleux (3, 4, 5) , ​mohamed Barakat (3, 4, 5) , Wafa Achouak (3, 4, 5) , Eric Fourest (1)

1 CTP - Centre Technique du Papier
2 LGC - Laboratoire de Génie Chimique
3 LEMIRE - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne de la Rhizosphère et d'Environnements Extrêmes
4 ECCOREV - Ecosystèmes continentaux et risques environnementaux
5 AMU - Aix Marseille Université

Microbial anodes were formed under polarization at −0.3 V/SCE on graphite plates in effluents from a pulp and paper mill. The bioanodes formed with the addition of acetate led to the highest current densities (up to 6 A/m2) but were then unable to oxidize the raw effluent efficiently (0.5 A/m2). In contrast, the bioanodes formed without acetate addition were fully able to oxidize the organic matter contained in the effluent, giving up to 4.5 A/m2 in continuous mode. Bacterial communities showed less bacterial diversity for the acetate-fed bioanodes compared to those formed in raw effluents. Deltaproteobacteria were the most abundant taxonomic group, with a high diversity for bioanodes formed without acetate addition but with almost 100% Desulfuromonas for the acetate-fed bioanodes. The addition of acetate to form the microbial anodes induced microbial selection, which was detrimental to the treatment of the raw effluent.

Mots clés: Microbial anode; Bioanode; Microbial fuel cell; Paper industry effluent; Desulfuromonas

Domaines: Génie chimique; Génie des procédés; Ingénierie de l'environnement

Françoise Ketep, Alain Bergel, Marie Bertrand-Huleux, ​mohamed Barakat, Wafa Achouak, et al.. Forming microbial anodes with acetate addition decreases their capability to treat raw paper mill effluent. Bioresource Technology, 2014, 164, pp.285-291. ⟨10.1016/j.biortech.2014.04.088⟩. ⟨hal-01894355⟩