Groundwater Bioremediation through Reductive Dechlorination in a Permeable Bioelectrochemical Reactor
Geremia Sassetto, Laura Lorini, Agnese Lai, Marco Petrangeli Papini +1
AI summary
82% confidenceA membrane-less bioelectrochemical reactor inspired by permeable reactive barrier (PBR) design was developed for groundwater remediation via reductive dechlorination. The system uses graphite granules and mixed metal oxide electrodes separated by a non-conductive silica layer to stimulate microbial degradation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons. Operating at 100 mA galvanostatic mode with synthetic groundwater containing cisDCE, nitrate, and sulphate, the reactor achieved 96% cisDCE removal with VC as the primary product, complete nitrate reduction, but only 25% sulphate reduction, demonstrating competing electron acceptor pathways.
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- MERC
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- synthetic mixture
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Abstract
A new membrane-less bioelectrochemical reactor configuration was developed for contaminated groundwater remediation. The new bioelectrochemical reactor configuration was inspired by the utilisation of a permeable reactive barrier (PBR) configuration with no separation membrane. The corresponding reactive zones were created by using graphite granules and mixed metal oxide (MMO) electrodes to stimulate the reductive and oxidative biological degradation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons. In the present study, the PBR-like bioelectrochemical reactor has been preliminarily operated with synthetic contaminated groundwater, testing the reductive dechlorination activity on cis-dichloroethylene (cisDCE). Moreover, to assess the effects of competing anions presence for the electron donor (i.e., the cathode), the synthetic wastewater contained sulphate and nitrate anions. In the PBR-like reactor operation, nearly all cisDCE was removed in the initial sampling port, with only VC detected as the observable RD product. During the same biotic test of the PRB reactor, the presence of both the reductive dechlorination and anions reduction was confirmed by the complete nitrate reduction in the cathodic chamber of the PRB reactor. On the contrary, sulphate reduction showed a lower activity; indeed, only 25% of the influent sulphate was removed by the PRB reactor.
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- 2024