Kirmizakis Panagiotis, Cunningham Mark, Kumaresan Deepak, Doherty Rory
Center for Integrative Petroleum Research, College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT7 1NN, UK.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2025 Jan;32(4):2069-2084. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-35848-5. Epub 2025 Jan 4.
This research presents a straightforward and economically efficient design for a microbial fuel cell (MFC) that can be conveniently integrated into a borehole to monitor natural attenuation in groundwater. The design employs conventional, transparent, and reusable PVC bailers with graphite tape and granular activated carbon to create high surface area electrodes. These electrodes are connected across redox environments in nested boreholes through a wire and variable resistor setup. The amended electrodes were installed in pre-existing boreholes surrounding a groundwater plume near a former gasworks facility. Among all the MFC locations tested, the MFC at the plume fringe exhibited the highest electrical response and displayed significant variations in the differential abundance of key bacterial and archaeal taxa between the anode and cathode electrodes. The other MFC configurations in the plume center and uncontaminated groundwater showed little to no electrical response, suggesting minimal microbial activity. This straightforward approach enables informed decision-making regarding effectively monitoring, enhancing, or designing degradation strategies for groundwater plumes. It offers a valuable tool for understanding and managing contaminant degradation in such environments.
本研究提出了一种简单且经济高效的微生物燃料电池（MFC）设计，该设计可方便地集成到钻孔中，以监测地下水中的自然衰减。该设计采用传统、透明且可重复使用的PVC提水桶，搭配石墨带和颗粒活性炭，以制造高表面积电极。这些电极通过电线和可变电阻装置连接在嵌套钻孔中的氧化还原环境之间。改良后的电极安装在一个以前的煤气厂设施附近的地下水羽流周围的现有钻孔中。在所有测试的MFC位置中，羽流边缘的MFC表现出最高的电响应，并且阳极和阴极电极之间关键细菌和古菌类群的相对丰度存在显著差异。羽流中心和未受污染地下水中的其他MFC配置几乎没有电响应，表明微生物活动极少。这种简单的方法能够为有效监测、增强或设计地下水羽流的降解策略提供明智的决策依据。它为理解和管理此类环境中的污染物降解提供了一个有价值的工具。
