Effect of magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes coupled with magnetic field on anaerobic digestion

• Published in: Journal of water process engineering 2024-06, Vol.63, p.105396, Article 105396
• Main Authors: Qin, Fan, Zhang, Fengyuan, Lu, Mingyi, Feng, Quan, Guo, Rongbo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anaerobic digestion; Magnetic field; Magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes; Microbial community structure
• ISSN: 2214-7144; 2214-7144
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.105396

Conductive composite materials have been used to enhance methane production in anaerobic digestion (AD), and magnetic field will affect microbial activity. In this study, magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Fe3O4@CNTs) were prepared and coupled with magnetic field (MF) simultaneously during a 54-day AD process to evaluate the effects on methane production and microorganisms. The group with magnetic materials addition coupled with MF improved methane production by 5.07 % compared to the control group and enriched the abundance of acetic acid-trophic methanogens. High-throughput sequencing analysis showed that the microbial communities varied with the addition of Fe3O4@CNTs, MF, and Fe3O4@CNTs coupled with MF. The Fe3O4@CNTs coupled with MF group had the highest diversity. This study provides the possibility to enhance the performance of anaerobic digestion by applying magnetic material coupled with magnetic field. [Display omitted] •Fe3O4@CNTs promoted the degradation of volatile fatty acids.•Magnetic field (MF) accelerated CH4 production in anaerobic digestion.•Addition of Fe3O4@CNTs coupled MF increased CH4 production.