Enhanced methane production in anaerobic co-digestion systems with modified black phosphorus

Black phosphorus (BP) and BP modified by hydrogen peroxide (MBP) were used as accelerants to enhance CH₄ production and CO₂ reduction in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) coupled with anaerobic co-digestion systems (MEC-AcoD). The MEC-AcoD group with a voltage of 0.6 V and 0.03 wt.% of MBP accelerant (MEC_0.6MBP_0.03) had the largest CH₄ yield (242.1 mL/g VS) and the smallest carbon dioxide yield (97.6 mL/g VS) compared with the control group (141.2 mL/g VS, 146.9 mL/g VS). The digestates that used MEC_0.6MBP_0.03 exhibited superior thermal stability (46.2 %) and total nutrient contents (44.5 g/kg). These improvements may be attributed to the superior electron exchange capacity and physicochemical properties of MBP. Herein, we propose a strategy to understand enhanced CH₄ production and CO₂ reduction in anaerobic co-digestion and MEC-AcoD systems using MBP accelerants. Notably, combining MBP and MEC could effectively promote anaerobic co-digestion performance.