Journal of water process engineering最新文献

{"title":"A new constructed wetland design for nitrogen recovery of industrial composting leachates through bioconversion into a nitrate-rich hydroponic fertilizer","authors":"Rémi Soret ,&nbsp;Paul-Etienne Fontaine","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107491","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107491","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nitrogen can be recovered from highly ammonium-concentrated wastes like composting leachates through nitrification into a nitrate-enriched fertilizer. Two Verticalized SubSurface Flow constructed Wetland (VSSFW) designs presenting 2 m (VSSFW 2 m) and 4 m (VSSFW 4 m) long packing-beds were compared for the bioconversion of industrial composting leachates. During a monitored treatment cycle of 96 h, the VSSFW 2 m displayed higher nitrification efficiency (Removal Efficiency RE (%) = 99.9 %) and higher nitrate NO₃-N production (212 mg.L⁻¹ final NO₃-N concentration, Conversion Ratio (CR) = 1.35, Converted Mass Load (CML) = 74.8 g _NO3-N.m⁻³_packing.d⁻¹) than the VSSFW 4 m (RE (%) = 81.6 %, 125 mg.L⁻¹, CR = 0.78, CML = 46.2 g _NO3-N.m⁻³_packing.d⁻¹). The nitrate-enriched solution produced by the VSSFW 2 m held comparable NO₃-N concentration as the inorganic Hoagland fertilizer (210 mg.L⁻¹). It demonstrated both the feasibility of the bioconvertion and the agronomical qualities of the obtained solution. On a 44 days steady-state operation, the VSSFW 2 m displayed better nitrification (RE (%) = 96.9 ± 3.9 %, Surface Loading Rate (SLR) = 22.9 ± 2.9 g _NH4-N.m⁻² _footprint.d⁻¹) than the VSSFW 4 m (RE (%) = 81.5 ± 12.9 %, SLR = 14.7 ± 2.8 g _NH4-N.m⁻² _footprint.d⁻¹). It also demonstrated significantly higher NO₃-N production (211.6 ± 14.9 mg.L⁻¹ final NO₃-N concentration, CR = 1.35 ± 0.19 and CML = 78.4 ± 5.5 g _NO3-N.m⁻³_packing.d⁻¹) than the VSSFW 4 m (211.6 ± 14.9 mg.L⁻¹ final NO₃-N concentration, CR = 1.35 ± 0.19 and CML = 78.4 ± 5.5 g _NO3-N.m⁻³_packing.d⁻¹). Only the VSSFW 2 m was able to produce in steady-state operation a bioconverted fertilizer from composting leachates holding comparable agronomical values than the inorganic Hoagland fertilizer.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"73 ","pages":"Article 107491"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chlorella-regeneration of exhausted D301Zr nanocomposite adsorbent of phosphate sequestration from water: A multi benefits approach with adsorbent regeneration, phosphorus reuse, and carbon fixation","authors":"Mingwei Fu ,&nbsp;Mingyang Lin ,&nbsp;Sufeng Wang,&nbsp;Jingshan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107500","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107500","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The regeneration of exhausted D301<img>Zr (nano-Zr immobilized on D301, a phosphate adsorbent) by <em>Chlorella</em> can avoid the secondary pollution caused by chemical regeneration and achieve multi benefits of adsorbent regeneration, phosphorus reuse, and CO₂ fixation. The liquid-solid ratio and pH were identified as the main factors affecting the regeneration through orthogonal experiments, and the appropriate ranges of regeneration were verified for the liquid-solid ratio and initial pH through single factor experiments. The optimal conditions for <em>Chlorella</em>-regeneration were determined as 2500 L/g liquid-solid ratio (cell solution (10⁶ cell/mL)/D301-Zr-P), neutral initial pH; 25 °C of the regeneration temperature; phosphorus free f/2 medium; and with slightly air charging. The results of the 5-d cyclic regeneration showed that the regeneration rate, the biomass productivity, and CO₂ fixation rate were about in the ranges of (88.66–94.33) %, (24.69–31.24) mg·L⁻¹·d⁻¹, and (45.25–57.28) mg·L⁻¹·d⁻¹ respectively. In addition, the results of phosphorus adsorption/release experiments, the free energy evaluation, and XPS analysis suggested that phosphorus released from D301-Zr-P may cause of a reverse concentration gradient along D301-Zr-P to regeneration solution and <em>Chlorella</em> cells, which was the prerequisite for regeneration. The phosphorus consumption by <em>Chlorella</em> can be the driving force for maintaining the concentration gradient, until the <em>Chlorella</em>-regeneration was achieved finally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"73 ","pages":"Article 107500"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Black liquor as an alternative alkaline agent in thermo-alkaline pre-treatment to enhance volatile fatty acid production from excessive sludge","authors":"Ze-Xiang Liu ,&nbsp;Yong Chen ,&nbsp;Yuan-Fang Pan ,&nbsp;Hua Lian ,&nbsp;Zhi-Hong Xu ,&nbsp;Jian Zhang ,&nbsp;Tian Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107447","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107447","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The inherent alkalinity and organic constituents of black liquor from chemical pulping enables chemical saving while serving as a sustainable alkaline substitute for thermal-alkaline pre-treatment of excessive sludge. The feasibility of using black liquor from pulping as an alkaline substitute to enhance volatile fatty acids production through anaerobic digestion of thermo-alkaline pretreated excessive sludge was evaluated in the present study. The results of batch methanogenic fermentation demonstrated that over 60 % of bio-available organic remain in the liquid phase which contributed to the kinetics acceleration of bioconversion. Besides, the addition of black liquor suppressed the methanogenic activity therefore conserved more volatile fatty acids as final production (the production of volatile fatty acids reached 300 mg per gram of volatile solids, in equivalence of chemical oxygen demand) and 160 mg acetic acid per gram of volatile solid. Black liquor presents the capability to inhibit the bio-activity of acetate-consuming methanogenesis. The electron buffer capacity of Lignin-carbohydrate complexes in black liquor might be responsible to the selective inhibition of acetate-utilizing methanogens, thereby reducing the metabolic consumption of non-utilized volatile fatty acids. This work establishes black liquor assisted thermo-alkaline pretreatment as a feasible strategy for magnitude volatile fatty acids production from excessive sludge.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"73 ","pages":"Article 107447"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using waste to treat waste: Coupling of advanced reduction processes and anaerobic fermentation","authors":"Xing-Yuan Chen ,&nbsp;Yun Niu ,&nbsp;Lin Pan ,&nbsp;Han-Lin Gu ,&nbsp;Wei Gao ,&nbsp;Zi-Yi Mu ,&nbsp;Li-Li Hu ,&nbsp;Wei Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hydrated electrons, generated from indole acetic acid (IAA) under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation for pollutants removal, represented a feasible in situ IAA utilization technology, addressing the issue of inefficient conversion in legume wastewater anaerobic fermentation (AF). In this study, methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) were used as pollutant models in the reductive degradation system. The degradation rate of MB and RhB was increased for 2.05 and 16.93 folds with the IAA concentration increased by 6 folds. Electron paramagnetic resonance and quenching experiments revealed that hydrated electrons were the dominant species in the system. HPLC-MS analysis revealed that hydrated electrons interact with MB and RhB through demethylation/deethylation and deamination. LC₅₀ of <em>Daphnia magna</em> of intermediates were higher than RhB (5.97 mg/L). Ames mutagenicity of intermediates were lower than MB (0.43) and RhB (0.52). The acidic conditions favored MB and RhB reductive degradation. Additionally, HCO₃⁻, Cl⁻, extracellular polymeric substances, proteins, and polysaccharides inhibited the degradation system by interacting with hydrated electrons. The findings revealed that the coupling of advanced reduction processes and AF was effective for wastewater treatment. This study provided a new solution for preventing IAA conversion and a new opportunity for wastewater treatment through “using waste to treat waste”.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"72 ","pages":"Article 107526"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143681328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rapid construction of granular activated carbon (GAC)-enhanced anaerobic ammonia oxidation system and study on the mechanism of systematic nitrogen removal","authors":"Xuyang He ,&nbsp;Yongjun Liu ,&nbsp;Lu Yang ,&nbsp;Zhuangzhuang Yang ,&nbsp;Aining Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhe Liu ,&nbsp;Zhihua Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107506","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107506","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To address the problem of slow start-up of anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) system, this study rapidly constructed an anammox system by granular activated carbon (GAC) reinforcement. The results indicated that under the optimal conditions, the GAC reactor successfully started up in 58 days. Compared with the control group, the lag phase, propagation phase and total start-up period were shortened by 17 days, 23 days and 20 days respectively. When the influent ammonia nitrogen concentration was increased to 100 mg/L and 200 mg/L, the removal rates of ammonia nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen in the GAC reactor were both above 90 %, and it took only 101 days to reach a nitrogen removal rate (NRR) of 0.70 kg-N/(m³·d), which was 41 days faster than the control group. Further studies showed that the addition of GAC significantly increased the content of extracellular polymers (EPS), while greatly reducing the activity of <em>Dehydrogenase</em> (DHA). Additionally, anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacterium <em>Candidatus Brocadia</em> was successfully enriched, with a relative abundance of 30.30 %, confirming the process advantages of GAC modification. The present study investigated the critical operational parameters and metabolic interaction mechanisms for the rapid start-up of the anammox system, thereby establishing a robust theoretical framework for its engineering application.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"72 ","pages":"Article 107506"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143681329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Removal of diclofenac from different pharmaceutical matrices using non-thermal plasma technology: ecotoxicity studies, cost-benefit analysis, and current market scenario","authors":"Karina Lenard ,&nbsp;Yash Chawla ,&nbsp;Magda Caban ,&nbsp;Dominik Terefinko ,&nbsp;Agata Motyka-Pomagruk ,&nbsp;Pawel Pohl ,&nbsp;Piotr Cyganowski ,&nbsp;Piotr Jamroz ,&nbsp;Anna Dzimitrowicz","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107477","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107477","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Diclofenac (DCF) enters aquatic ecosystems and negatively affects wildlife. To tackle with this environmental issue, it is required to develop novel methods for removal of DCF from wastewaters. Here, continuous reaction discharge system with non-thermal plasma (NTP), employing flowing liquid cathode (FLC) direct current atmospheric pressure glow discharge (dc-APGD), was adopted for this purpose. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work in which NTP has been applied for removal of DCF from gel or capsule matrices to mimic the impact of diverse sources of contamination in addition to contribution of the presence of diverse excipients. By using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) 96–98 % removal efficiencies were determined for 50–200 mg L⁻¹ DCF solutions prepared from gel in comparison to 90–94 % in terms of the 25–100 mg L⁻¹ DCF based on capsules matrix. Also, changing of the selected parameters of the DCF solutions following NTP treatment was shown. It was found that H₂O₂ and NO₂⁻ were involved in the DCF removal process. Additionally, it was noted that DCF solutions subjected to NTP treatment exhibit no negative impact on seed germination and early growth of <em>Lepidium sativum</em> model plants. Furthermore, we did a cost-benefit analysis and suggested the current market scene by comparing our NTP-based removal method to the commonly applied approaches. Based on the conducted studies, it was found that besides the high operation costs of the FLC-dc-APGD system, it could be implemented into the market.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"72 ","pages":"Article 107477"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143681330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-efficiency removal of lead (II) and methylene blue by MnO2-decorated oxidized biochar","authors":"Naglaa Salem El-Sayed ,&nbsp;Kholod H. Kamal ,&nbsp;Mohamed El-Sakhawy ,&nbsp;El Barbary Hassan ,&nbsp;Samir Kamel","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107478","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107478","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Industrial development has significantly escalated water pollution from heavy metals and dyes. This study explores an innovative solution using biochar (BC), a cost-effective and eco-friendly adsorbent, enhanced for improved performance. Rice straw-derived biochar was oxidized (OBC) and further immobilized with MnO₂ (MnO₂@OBC). Comprehensive characterization using FTIR, XRD, SEM/EDX, and TGA confirmed the structural modifications. The adsorption efficiency of BC, OBC, and MnO₂@OBC was evaluated for Pb²⁺ and methylene blue dye (MB) with and without UV light. MnO₂@OBC (1:1 wt/wt) exhibited exceptional Pb²⁺ removal efficiencies of 96.7 % (non-UV) and 97.1 % (UV), while OBC excelled in MB removal with efficiencies of 93.6 % (non-UV) and 94.3 % (UV). Kinetic studies revealed rapid Pb²⁺ adsorption within 5 mins and MB adsorption within 30 mins, following a pseudo-second-order model that highlights the importance of sorbent-contaminant interactions. High pH and sorbent dosages further enhanced removal efficiencies. Freundlich isotherm analysis indicated multilayer adsorption, with maximum adsorption capacities (q_max) of 143 and 135 mg/g for Pb²⁺ and MB, respectively. These findings underscore the potential of MnO₂@OBC and OBC as highly effective adsorbents for water purification applications. These findings underscore the potential of MnO₂@OBC and OBC as highly effective adsorbents for water purification applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"72 ","pages":"Article 107478"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143632150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing Fe2O3/Bi2O3 performance for antibiotic photodegradation by combining with waste tire-derived activated carbon and visible-light-induced activation of peroxydisulfate: Effect of composition and initial pH, and evaluation of H2 production","authors":"Salwan Obaid Waheed Khafaji ,&nbsp;Ali B. M. Ali ,&nbsp;Abdul Amir H. Kadhum ,&nbsp;M.A. Diab ,&nbsp;Heba A. El-Sabban ,&nbsp;Abdulrahman A. Almehizia ,&nbsp;Ergash Bobobekov","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107501","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107501","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The integration of photocatalysts with activated carbon (AC) and the visible-light-induced activation of peroxydisulfate offers a promising strategy for enhancing degradation processes, with significant potential for advanced environmental remediation and sustainable pollution control. Herein, a novel waste tire-derived activated carbon (T-AC)-based photocatalyst was synthesized with varying Fe₂O₃/Bi₂O₃ (FeB) weight ratios of 20, 30, and 40 wt% to evaluate its performance on cefixime (CFX) photodegradation using peroxydisulfate (PDS) as a sulfate radical precursor. Also, H₂ production utilizing aforementioned photocatalyst were examined. The influence of the initial solution pH (5–9) was investigated to optimize photocatalytic efficiency. Characterization of the materials was performed using BET, XRD, FE-SEM, UV–Vis, TEM, PL, Photocurrent, Mott-Schottky, and ESR analyses. The presence of PDS significantly enhanced the photodegradation efficiency of CFX, improving it from 85.32 % to 99.91 %. In addition, CFX mineralization of 82.34 % revealed the efficiency of the prepared composite. Optimal degradation conditions were found at a pH of 7. Trapping experiments further revealed the significant contribution of hydroxyl (^•OH), superoxide (^•O₂⁻), and sulfate (^•SO₄⁻) radicals in the photodegradation process. The incorporation of Fe₂O₃ and Bi₂O₃ onto T-AC, a cost-effective support, significantly enhances their degradation efficiency and H₂ production by improving charge separation, active site dispersion, and pollutant adsorption capacity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"72 ","pages":"Article 107501"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143632153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Removal of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes using microalgae-based wastewater treatment system: A bibliometric review and mechanism analysis","authors":"Gasana Zachee ,&nbsp;Alexis Kayiranga ,&nbsp;Jean Claude Nizeyimana ,&nbsp;Shaohua Tian ,&nbsp;Justin Rugema ,&nbsp;Lelan You ,&nbsp;Xu Huang ,&nbsp;Jian-Qiang Su","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107496","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107496","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Environmental problems caused by the overuse of antibiotics have attracted more and more attention. This study aims at uncovering the role of microalgae in removing antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes from wastewater based on searching 134 publications on Web of Science databases (2014-01-01 to 2024-01-01). The results showed that there was an enormous rise in the total number of publications which stem from international cooperation with China, the United States, and India at its core. Most of them published in interdisciplinary journals such as Bioresource Technology, Journal of Hazardous Materials, and Science of the Total Environment, indicating that both theoretical research and technical application are emphasized. Co-occurrence network analysis shows that biodegradation, biosorption, and photodegradation are main removal mechanisms of antibiotics. Focusing on three removal mechanisms, the performance of different algae and the removal rate of different antibiotics were discussed in depth. Further, the evolution of resistance genes in microalgae-based systems was systematically reviewed. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives were proposed for the application of microalgae-based systems into antibiotics contaminated wastewater. Potentially, this synthesis will lead to a better understanding of microalgae-based wastewater systems as sustainable systems that meet the minimal requirements for modernized wastewater treatment systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"72 ","pages":"Article 107496"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143632155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"N-acyl homoserine lactones - Modified anode improves carbamazepine removal in microbial fuel cells: Effect of electrogenic biofilm","authors":"Jing Fu ,&nbsp;Xiang Li ,&nbsp;Hao Chen ,&nbsp;Jingting Mei ,&nbsp;Liang Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107489","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jwpe.2025.107489","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbamazepine (CBZ) often contaminates wastewater, posing ecological risks. Graphene-based anode-augmented microbial fuel cells (MFCs) efficiently degrade resistant organics and convert waste energy to electricity. Conventional graphene oxide hydrogels employed as anodes encounter challenges related to complex fabrication processing and biocompatibility. This study achieved a one-step synthesis method for bio-reduced graphene oxide hydrogel (BGH) and introduced quorum sensing (QS) molecule to improve graphene reduction for optimal practical applications. A BGH anode with N-butyryl-L-Homoserine lactone (C4-HSL) was developed to assess its performance and mechanisms for CBZ removal in MFC applications. The outcomes showed that the QS molecule C4-HSL enhanced CBZ removal and increased maximum power density to 85 % and 89.38 W m⁻³, respectively. This improvement can be attributed to the enhanced degree of reduction and defect sites for electroactive microorganism attachment.</div><div>Additionally, C4-HSL facilitates biofilm formation, extracellular polymeric substance content, and the abundance of electroactive genera of <em>Bacillus</em>, <em>Brooklawnia</em>, <em>Bacteroides</em>, and <em>Clostridium.</em> The influence of C4-HSL on MFC performance varies with concentration, as biofilms that exceed moderate thickness can restrict electron transfer. The finding demonstrated that C4-HSL-modified materials may serve as effective anodes. By adjusting HSL concentrations according to MFC application goals, these anodes can enhance contaminant remediation and energy generation efficiency.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17528,"journal":{"name":"Journal of water process engineering","volume":"73 ","pages":"Article 107489"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143642357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}