Pesticide wastewater treatment using the combination of the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell and Fenton process

Abstract

• MEDCC combined with Fenton process was developed to treat real pesticide wastewater.

• Pesticide removal was attributable to desalination in the MEDCC.

• High COD removal was attributable to organic distributions in different chambers.

The combination of the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell (MEDCC) and Fenton process for the pesticide wastewater treatment was investigate in this study. Real wastewater with several toxic pesticides, 1633 mg/L COD, and 200 in chromaticity was used for the investigation. Results showed that desalination in the desalination chamber of MEDCC reached 78%. Organics with low molecular weights in the desalination chamber could be removed from the desalination chamber, resulting in 28% and 23% of the total COD in the acid-production and cathode chambers, respectively. The desalination in the desalination chamber and organic transfer contributed to removal of pesticides (e.g., triadimefon), which could not be removed with other methods, and of the organics with low molecular weights. The COD in the effluent of the MEDCC combined the Fenton process was much lower than that in the perixo-coagulaiton process (<150 vs. 555 mg/L). The combined method consumed much less energy and acid for the pH adjustment than that the Fenton.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Pesticide wastewater / COD removal / Microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell / Energy consumption / Fenton oxidation

References

[1] Agudelo R M, Peñuela G, Aguirre N J, Morató J, Jaramillo M L (2010). Simultaneous removal of chlorpyrifos and dissolved organic carbon using horizontal sub-surface flow pilot wetlands. Ecological Engineering, 36(10): 1401–1408

[2] Akbar S, Sultan S (2016). Soil bacteria showing a potential of chlorpyrifos degradation and plant growth enhancement. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, 47(3): 563–570

[3] Badawy M I, Ghaly M Y, Gad-Allah T A (2006). Advanced oxidation processes for the removal of organophosphorus pesticides from wastewater. Desalination, 194(1–3): 166–175

[4] Ballesteros Martín M M, Sánchez Pérez J A, García Sánchez J L, Casas López J L, Malato Rodríguez S (2009). Effect of pesticide concentration on the degradation process by combined solar photo-Fenton and biological treatment. Water Research, 43(15): 3838–3848

[5] Chen S, Liu G, Zhang R, Qin B, Luo Y (2012a). Development of the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell for desalination as well as acid and alkali productions. Environmental Science & Technology, 46(4): 2467–2472

[6] Chen S, Liu G, Zhang R, Qin B, Luo Y, Hou Y (2012b). Improved performance of the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell using the stack structure. Bioresource Technology, 116: 507–511

[7] Cheung P C W, Williams D R (2015). Separation of transition metals and chelated complexes in wastewaters. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 34(3): 761–783

[8] Clesceri L S, Greenberg A E, Eaton A D (1998). Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. Washington, DC: APHA

[9] Farner Budarz J, Cooper E M, Gardner C, Hodzic E, Ferguson P L, Gunsch C K, Wiesner M R (2019). Chlorpyrifos degradation via photoreactive TiO₂ nanoparticles: Assessing the impact of a multi-component degradation scenario. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 372: 61–68

[10] García-Mancha N, Monsalvo V M, Puyol D, Rodriguez J J, Mohedano A F (2017). Enhanced anaerobic degradability of highly polluted pesticides-bearing wastewater under thermophilic conditions. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 339: 320–329

[11] Geed S R, Shrirame B S, Singh R S, Rai B N (2017). Assessment of pesticides removal using two-stage Integrated Aerobic Treatment Plant (IATP) by Bacillus sp. isolated from agricultural field. Bioresource Technology, 242: 45–54

[12] Huang X, Xiao K, Shen Y (2010). Recent advances in membrane bioreactor technology for wastewater treatment in China. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering in China, 4(3): 245–271

[13] Jonge D H, Wollesen de J L (1999). Influence of pH and solution composition on the sorption of glyphosate and prochloraz to a sandy loam soil. Chemosphere, 39(5): 753–763

[14] Köck-Schulmeyer M, Villagrasa M, López de Alda M, Céspedes-Sánchez R, Ventura F, Barceló D (2013). Occurrence and behavior of pesticides in wastewater treatment plants and their environmental impact. Science of the Total Environment, 458–460: 466–476

[15] Lan J, Ren Y, Lu Y, Liu G, Luo H, Zhang R (2019). Combined microbial desalination and chemical-production cell with Fenton process for treatment of electroplating wastewater nanofiltration concentrate. Chemical Engineering Journal, 359: 1139–1149

[16] Li R, Yang C, Chen H, Zeng G, Yu G, Guo J (2009). Removal of triazophos pesticide from wastewater with Fenton reagent. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 167(1–3): 1028–1032

[17] Li X, Lu Y, Luo H, Liu G, Zhang R (2017). Microbial stratification structure within cathodic biofilm of the microbial fuel cell using the freezing microtome method. Bioresource Technology, 241: 384–390

[18] Li Z, Yuan W (2015). Industrial waste utilization method: Producing poly-ferric sulfate (PFS) from sodium-jarosite residue. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 9(4): 731–737

[19] Lin P, Zhang X, Yang H, Li Y, Chen C (2015). Applying chemical sedimentation process in drinking water treatment plant to address the emergent arsenic spills in water sources. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 9(1): 50–57

[20] Lin Q, Yang X, Huang X, Wang S, Chao Y, Qiu R (2016). Subcellular distribution and uptake mechanism of di-n-butyl phthalate in roots of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) seedlings. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 23(1): 329–337

[21] Liu G, Luo H, Tang Y, Chen S, Zhang R, Hou Y (2014a). Tetramethylammonium hydroxide production using the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell. Chemical Engineering Journal, 258: 157–162

[22] Liu G, Luo H, Wang H, Wang B, Zhang R, Chen S (2014b). Malic acid production using a biological electrodialysis with bipolar membrane. Journal of Membrane Science, 471: 179–184

[23] Liu G, Zhou Y, Luo H, Cheng X, Zhang R, Teng W (2015). A comparative evaluation of different types of microbial electrolysis desalination cells for malic acid production. Bioresource Technology, 198: 87–93

[24] Liu Y, Li X, Wang B, Liu S (2008). Performance of landfill leachate treatment system with disc-tube reverse osmosis units. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering in China, 2(1): 24–31

[25] Lu Y, He S, Wang D, Luo S, Liu A, Luo H, Liu G, Zhang R (2018). A pulsed switching peroxi-coagulation process to control hydroxyl radical production and to enhance 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid degradation. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 12(5): 9

[26] Lu Y, Luo H, Yang K, Liu G, Zhang R, Li X, Ye B (2017). Formic acid production using a microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell. Bioresource Technology, 243: 118–125

[27] Luo H, Cheng X, Liu G, Zhou Y, Lu Y, Zhang R, Li X, Teng W (2017a). Citric acid production using a biological electrodialysis with bipolar membrane. Journal of Membrane Science, 523: 122–128

[28] Luo H, Li H, Lu Y, Liu G, Zhang R (2017b). Treatment of reverse osmosis concentrate using microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical production cell. Desalination, 408: 52–59

[29] Luo X, Zhang D, Zhou X, Zhang S, Liu Y (2019). Biodegradation of fenpropathrin by Rhodopseudomonas sp. strain PSB07-21 cultured under three different growth modes. Journal of Basic Microbiology, 59(6): 591–598

[30] Mao J, Quan X, Wang J, Gao C, Chen S, Yu H, Zhang Y (2018). Enhanced heterogeneous Fenton-like activity by Cu-doped BiFeO₃ perovskite for degradation of organic pollutants. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 12(6): 10

[31] Mercado D F, Bracco L L B, Arques A, Gonzalez M C, Caregnato P (2018). Reaction kinetics and mechanisms of organosilicon fungicide flusilazole with sulfate and hydroxyl radicals. Chemosphere, 190: 327–336

[32] Moreira F C, Vilar V J P, Ferreira A C C, Dos Santos F R A, Dezotti M, Sousa M A, Gonçalves C, Boaventura R A R, Alpendurada M F (2012). Treatment of a pesticide-containing wastewater using combined biological and solar-driven AOPs at pilot scale. Chemical Engineering Journal, 209: 429–441

[33] Nguyen C H, Fu C C, Juang R S (2018). Degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange by palladium-doped TiO₂ photocatalysis for water reuse: Efficiency and degradation pathways. Journal of Cleaner Production, 202: 413–427

[34] Ou X, Yan J, Zhang F, Zhang C (2018). Accelerated degradation of orange G over a wide pH range in the presence of FeVO₄. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 12(1): 7

[35] Pant D, Van Bogaert G, Diels L, Vanbroekhoven K (2010). A review of the substrates used in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for sustainable energy production. Bioresource Technology, 101(6): 1533–1543

[36] Reddy P V L, Kim K H (2015). A review of photochemical approaches for the treatment of a wide range of pesticides. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 285: 325–335

[37] Salazar R, Ureta-Zañartu M S (2012). Mineralization of triadimefon fungicide in water by electro-Fenton and photo electro-Fenton. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 223(7): 4199–4207

[38] Stamatis N, Antonopoulou M, Konstantinou I (2015). Photocatalytic degradation kinetics and mechanisms of fungicide tebuconazole in aqueous TiO₂ suspensions. Catalysis Today, 252: 93–99

[39] Su C, Li W, Liu X, Huang X, Yu X (2016). Fe-Mn-sepiolite as an effective heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for the decolorization of reactive brilliant blue. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 10(1): 37–45

[40] Sun X, Yang G, Cao X, Lin Z (2008). Photochemical degradation of triadimefon in seawater. Journal of Ocean University of China, 7(2): 171–176

[41] Tallur P N, Mulla S I, Megadi V B, Talwar M P, Ninnekar H Z (2015). Biodegradation of cypermethrin by immobilized cells of Micrococcus sp. strain CPN 1. Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, 46(3): 667–672

[42] Tran A T K, Mondal P, Lin J Y, Meesschaert B, Pinoy L, Van der Bruggen B (2015). Simultaneous regeneration of inorganic acid and base from a metal washing step wastewater by bipolar membrane electrodialysis after pretreatment by crystallization in a fluidized pellet reactor. Journal of Membrane Science, 473: 118–127

[43] Urzúa J, González-Vargas C, Sepúlveda F, Ureta-Zañartu M S, Salazar R (2013). Degradation of conazole fungicides in water by electrochemical oxidation. Chemosphere, 93(11): 2774–2781

[44] Volodina E, Pismenskaya N, Nikonenko V, Larchet C, Pourcelly G (2005). Ion transfer across ion-exchange membranes with homogeneous and heterogeneous surfaces. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 285(1): 247–258

[45] Wang W, Lu Y, Luo H, Liu G, Zhang R (2017). Effect of an improved gas diffusion cathode on carbamazepine removal using the electro-Fenton process. RSC Advances, 7(41): 25627–25633

[46] Ye B, Lu Y, Luo H, Liu G, Zhang R (2018). Tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide production using the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell with long anode. Bioresource Technology, 251: 403–406

[47] Ye B, Luo H, Lu Y, Liu G, Zhang R, Li X (2017). Improved performance of the microbial electrolysis desalination and chemical-production cell with enlarged anode and high applied voltages. Bioresource Technology, 244(Pt 1): 913–919

[48] Zapata A, Oller I, Sirtori C, Rodríguez A, Sánchez-Pérez J A, López A, Mezcua M, Malato S (2010). Decontamination of industrial wastewater containing pesticides by combining large-scale homogeneous solar photocatalysis and biological treatment. Chemical Engineering Journal, 160(2): 447–456

[49] Zhang H, Chen S, Zhang H, Fan X, Gao C, Yu H, Quan X (2019). Carbon nanotubes-incorporated MIL-88B-Fe as highly efficient Fenton-like catalyst for degradation of organic pollutants. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 13(2): 18

[50] Zhang L, Xie J L (2013). Pretreatment of herbicides production wastewater by spherical micro-electrolysis media. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 295–298: 1079–1083

[51] Zhang Y, Pagilla K (2010). Treatment of malathion pesticide wastewater with nanofiltration and photo-Fenton oxidation. Desalination, 263(1–3): 36–44

[52] Zhao L, Wang C, Gu H, Yue C (2018). Market incentive, government regulation and the behavior of pesticide application of vegetable farmers in China. Food Control, 85: 308–317

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature