Boosted biodegradation of recalcitrant bisphenol S by mix-cultured microbial fuel cells under micro-aerobic condition

As a substitute for bisphenol A (BPA), the potential toxicity and endocrine disruption of bisphenol S (BPS) have gradually attracted wide attention. Exploring methods to degrade BPS is of great significance. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been extensively used for the removal of contaminants and have demonstrated excellent performances. In this paper, an efficient strategy of micro-aeration to the anode chamber of MFC was conducted to boost the biodegradation of BPS without inhibiting the current generation. The removal efficiency of BPS by MFC under the micro-aerobic condition was 36.35%, which was 1.8 times higher than that of the control group. The introduction of trace oxygen had a neglectable effect on the maximum power density of the system. This work not only enhanced the biodegradation of BPS in MFCs by a simple strategy but also showed that commonly thought of anaerobic MFCs could enrich more functional bacteria (Lentimicrobium, Chryseobacterium and Gordonia) under the micro-aerobic condition in terms of endocrine disruptors removal. Therefore, this paper can provide a reference for the methods of enhancing the BPS removal performance by MFC.