Microbial fuel cell-assisted composting yields higher performance on metals passivation, antibiotics degradation, and resistance genes removal

Hu Cui; Sheng-Nan Hou; Xin-Yi Wang; Lei Li; Xiao-Hu Dai; Hui Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.120421

Microbial fuel cell-assisted composting yields higher performance on metals passivation, antibiotics degradation, and resistance genes removal

Environ Res. 2024 Nov 23:265:120421. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.120421. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hu Cui¹, Sheng-Nan Hou¹, Xin-Yi Wang¹, Lei Li², Xiao-Hu Dai³, Hui Zhu⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: 1810809@tongji.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China. Electronic address: zhuhui@iga.ac.cn.

PMID: 39581252
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.120421

Abstract

Little scientific evidence on metal passivation, antibiotic degradation and resistance genes removal, is available under autogenetic electrochemical reactions during composting process. This study established microbial fuel cell (MFC)-assisted composting procedure to ascertain the removal performance and detoxification mechanisms involving metals, antibiotics and their resistance genes. Compared to control treatment, the bioavailability of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in MFC-assisted treatment decreased by 7.8% and 26.9%, while the content of tetracycline (TCL) and oxytetracycline (OCL) reduced by 100% and 89%, respectively. Organics mineralization and humification were responsible for 80% and 70% of the variations in metal passivation and antibiotic degradation during composting process. A decrease of 54% was found for tetW gene, while copA gene increased by 42% in MFC-assisted composting treatment. These findings highlight the detoxification mechanisms underlying metal passivation and antibiotic degradation during composting process, and potentially offer valuable insights for environmental source protection and agricultural sustainable development.

Keywords: Aerobic composting; Agricultural wastes; Detoxification mechanisms; Microbial fuel cell; Removal performance.