Influence of plant radial oxygen loss in constructed wetland combined with microbial fuel cell on nitrobenzene removal from aqueous solution

Abstract This study investigated the effects of radial oxygen loss (ROL) of three different plants on nitrobenzene (NB) wastewater treatment and bioelectricity generation performance in constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell (CW-MFC). ROL and root biomass from wetland plants showed positive effects on NB wastewater compared to unplanted CW-MFC. Scirpus validus exhibited higher tolerance to NB than Typha orientalis and Iris pseudacorus at 20-200 mg/L NB. As NB concentration reached 200 mg/L, the CW-MFC with Scirpus validus had relatively high DO (2.57 ± 0.17 mg/L) and root biomass (16.42 ± 0.18 g/m2), which resulted in the highest power density and voltage (19.5 mW/m2, 590 mV) as well as NB removal efficiency (93.9%) among four reactors. High-throughput sequencing results suggested that electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) (e.g., Geobacter, Ferruginibacter) and dominant NB-degrading bacteria (e.g., Comamonas, Pseudomonas) could be enhanced by wetland plants, especially in CW-MFC with Scirpus validus. Therefore, Scirpus validus was a good option for simultaneously treating NB wastewater and producing bioelectricity.