GO/iron series systems enhancing the pH shock resistance of anaerobic systems for sulfate-containing organic wastewater treatment

• Published in: RSC advances 2022-07, Vol.12 (32), p.2983-299
• Main Authors: Wang, Longyu, Li, Haoyang, Wang, Xiao, Liu, Xiaofeng, Ma, Weiqing, Zhou, Guangji, Liang, Qiaochu, Lan, Huixia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacteria; Chemistry; Graphene; Iron oxides; Microorganisms; Propionic acid; Shock resistance; Wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/d2ra01616h

In this study, the effect of pH shock during the treatment of sulfate-containing organic wastewater was investigated using an anaerobic fermentation system reinforced with graphene oxide (GO)/iron series systems. The results show that the anaerobic system with the GO/iron series systems exhibited enhanced resistance to pH shock. Among them, the GO/Fe 0 system had the strongest resistance to pH shock, the systems of GO/Fe 3 O 4 and GO/Fe 2 O 3 followed close behind, while the blank system performed the worst. After pH shock, the COD Cr removal rate, SO 4 2− removal rate, and gas production of the GO/Fe 0 group were significantly improved compared with those of the control group by 51.0%, 65.3%, and 34.6%, respectively, while the accumulation of propionic acid was the lowest. Further, detailed microbial characterization revealed that the introduction of the GO/iron series systems was beneficial to the formation of more stable anaerobic co-metabolic flora in the system, and the relative abundance of Geobacter , Clostridium , Desulfobulbus and Desulfovibrio increased after acidic and alkaline shock. In this paper, we studied the pH shock resistance mechanism of GO/iron series from the perspectives of the treatment effect, changes in effluent pH and VFA, and microbial co-metabolic stability, providing a reference for the practical application.