Electro-bioremediation of nitrate contaminated saline groundwater

Paper ID: 
cest2021_00481
Topic: 
Water treatment
Published under CEST2021
Proceedings ISBN: 978-618-86292-1-9
Proceedings ISSN: 2944-9820
Authors: 
(Corresponding) Puggioni G., Carucci A., Dessì E., Pous N., Puig S., Unali V., Milia S.
Abstract: 
Sustainable exploitation of coastal aquifers is often hindered by the presence of contaminants and high salinity levels. This study proves for the first time the electro-bioremediation of nitrate contaminated saline groundwater. Two 3-chamber bioelectrochemical systems (BES) were operated in potentiostatic mode for the treatment of a synthetic medium mimicking saline groundwater from the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone of Arborea (Sardinia, Italy). This groundwater is characterised by high nitrate concentrations (>33 mgNO3--N/L) and conductivity (>3.5 mS/cm). The electrochemically active microbial community grown on the surface of the biocathode was able to achieve nitrate removal rates and efficiencies of 6.8±0.4 mg/L·d and 87±2%, respectively. Conductivity significantly decreased (from 4.11±0.2 to 0.17±0.2 mS/cm) by enhancing the electromigration of ions from the middle chamber to the peripheral anodic and bio-cathodic chambers. Under the applied conditions, WHO (World Health Organization) drinking water threshold limits for nitrate (11.3 mgNO3--N/L) and conductivity (2.5 mS/cm) were satisfied. Moreover, high chloride migration was observed (63±7 mg/L·d), suggesting its possible recovery as chlorine in the anodic chamber using a specific electrode (Ti-MMO), within a circular economy-based approach. The results pave the way to the potential development of a new electro-bioremediation technology for water recovery (i.e., simultaneous denitrification and desalination) and sustainable chemicals production (i.e., chlorine).
Keywords: 
conductivity, denitrification, desalination, microbial electrochemical technology, value-added products.