Simultaneous arsenite oxidation and nitrate reduction at the electrodes of bioelectrochemical systems

Arsenic and nitrate contaminations in the soil and groundwater have urged the scientific community to explore suitable technologies for treatment of both contaminants. This study reports, for the first time, a novel application of bioelectrochemical systems for coupling As detoxification at the anode and denitrification at the cathode. A similar As(III) oxidation efficiency was achieved when anode potential was controlled by a potentiostat or a direct current (DC) power supply. However, a slightly lower nitrate reduction rate was obtained in reactors using DC power supply during simultaneous operation of nitrate reduction and As(III) oxidation. Microbial community analysis by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis indicated the presence of some autotrophic As(III)-oxidizing bacteria, including Achromobacter spp., Ensifer spp., and Sinorhizobium spp., that can flexibly switch their original metabolism of using oxygen as sole electron acceptor to a new metabolism mode of using solid-state anode as sole electron acceptor driving for As(III) oxidation under anaerobic conditions. Although further research is required for validating their applicability, bioelectrochemical systems represent a brilliant technology for remediation of groundwater contaminated with nitrate and/or arsenite.