Promoting direct interspecies electron transfer for methane production in bioelectrochemical anaerobic digestion: Impact of electrode surface area and switching circuit

The bioelectrochemical enhancement of direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) for methane production was investigated in a UASB reactor under different electrode surface areas. The specific methane production rate is stabilized at 316.7 mL/g COD in the bioelectrochemical UASB (BUASB) reactor with an electrode surface area of 10 m2/m3, which is significantly higher than the 216.8 mL/g COD of the UASB reactor. The electroactive bacteria, involved in the DIET for methane production, is signifianctly increased in the BUASB reactor. When the electrode surface area is expanded to (20 and 30) m2/m3, the specific methane production rates in the BUASB reactor are further increased to (358.4 and 361.0) mL/g COD, respectively (p-value > 0.05). The theoretical methane production from the electrode surface is approximate 3.1% of the total methane production in all BUASB reactors, and the bioelectrochemical methane production is mainly attributed to the biological DIET pathway (54%) in the bulk solution. The BUASB reactor at the electrode surface area of 20 m2/m3 showes better performance according to the methane production, process stability, and enrichment of electroactive microorganisms. The bioelectrochemical system provides a new platform that can dramatically improve the performance of UASB process for treating brewery wastewater.