Ambient aerobic pretreatment enhances food waste fermentation broth for high content perchlorate biodegradation

The biodegradation of perchlorate (ClO₄^-) in contaminated environments often requires extra electron donors and carbon sources. This study investigates the use of ambient aerobic pretreatment technology combined with anaerobic fermentation of food waste to produce fermentation broth of food waste (FBFW) and enhance ClO₄^- biodegradation capacity. The results demonstrated that FBFW, prepared through aerobic pretreatment, exhibited excellent performance in ClO₄^- biodegradation. With an electron donor-to-acceptor ratio of 1.2, a remarkable ClO₄^- removal efficiency of 92.38% was achieved at 72 ​h when using FBFW after a 6-day aerobic pretreatment. This can be attributed to the higher proportion of lactic acid and lower ammonium concentration. Furthermore, FBFW, serving as an electron donor and carbon source after aerobic pretreatment, enhanced the abundance of microbial taxa belonging to Firmicutes and Aeromonas, known for their involvement in electron transfer and reduction processes related to ClO₄^-. This study highlighted the potential of aerobic pretreatment of food waste combined with anaerobic fermentation to produce FBFW and enhance ClO₄^- reduction, offering new perspectives for food waste utilization and the remediation of high ClO₄^- contamination.