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An electricity-generating bacterium separated from oil sludge microbial fuel cells and its environmental adaptability

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Abstract

Electricity-generating bacteria as biocatalysts for microbial fuel cells (MFCs), their species, and power generation performance determine the pollution control and power generation performance of MFCs. And there are few studies on the types and performance of electricity-generating bacteria isolated from oily sludge microbial fuel cells. For improving the power generation performance of oily sludge MFCs, an electricity-generating bacterium was isolated from the oily sludge. More importantly, the adaptability of nitrogen to phosphorus ratio, temperature, and pH of the electricity-generating bacteria were adjusted by a controlled variable method. The results of this study showed that the electricity-generating bacterium was identified as Bacillus cereus, with a rod-shaped cell, about 0.5–1.0 μm in length. The optimal nitrogen-phosphorus ratio, temperature, and pH of MFCs were 4.67:1, 25 ℃, and pH = 7, respectively. Its maximum power density, COD, and oil removal rate was up to 65 mW·m−3, 90.51%, and 87.76%, respectively. The study of this functional bacterium will provide beneficial assistance for the improvement of oil removal and power generation performance of oily sludge MFCs.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was funded by State Key Laboratory for the Control and Treatment of Petroleum and Petrochemical Pollutants, China (PPC2017005), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, China (ZR2020KE041), and Research Fund Project of Binzhou University, China (2021Y38, BZXYQNLG201502).

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Authors

Contributions

Guo Haiying, **e Shuixiang, and Tang Shanfa were responsible for the conception and design of the work. Huang Chunfeng, Geng **aoheng, and Jia **nlei were responsible for the data gathering and analysis, and writing and revising all drafts of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Haiying Guo.

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Guo, H., **e, S., Huang, C. et al. An electricity-generating bacterium separated from oil sludge microbial fuel cells and its environmental adaptability. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 3697–3706 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22467-1

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