Biotrickling filters (BTFs) combined with microbial fuel cell (MFC) provide a sustainable approach to remove volatile organic compounds accompanied by electricity production. In this study, an integrate system (SMFC-BTF) combining single-chamber MFC with BTF is constructed and used to remove toluene-containing gas. A stable removal efficiency of ∼80% is obtained for the 800 ppm toluene accompanied with the current output of 0.25 mA, indicating the feasibility of SMFC-BTF for the simultaneous removal of toluene and electricity production. Moreover, the removal efficiency increases to 95% when the inlet toluene concentration is below 400 ppm under the empty bed retention time of 180s. The detection of intermediate products reveals that cresol, benzyl alcohol, hydroxybenzoic acid, and dihydroxybenzoic acid are produced during the oxidation of toluene by aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Accordingly, the pathways of toluene degradation in SMFC-BTF are proposed. The significant difference of microbial species growing in different parts of SMFC-BTF suggests that the process of toluene removal in the system is spatial difference. Our results provide a promising system for the simultaneous removal of toluene and energy recovery.

中文翻译：

---

使用单室微生物燃料电池-生物吸附过滤系统同时去除燃气和电力生产中的甲苯

生物滴滤器 (BTF) 与微生物燃料电池 (MFC) 相结合，提供了一种可持续的方法来去除挥发性有机化合物并伴随发电。本研究构建了单室MFC与BTF相结合的集成系统（SMFC-BTF），用于去除含甲苯气体。对于 800 ppm 甲苯，伴随 0.25 mA 的电流输出，获得了 80% 的稳定去除效率，表明 SMFC-BTF 同时去除甲苯和发电的可行性。此外，在180s的空床停留时间下，当入口甲苯浓度低于400 ppm时，去除效率提高到95%。中间产物检测表明甲酚、苯甲醇、羟基苯甲酸、甲苯在好氧和厌氧微生物氧化过程中产生二羟基苯甲酸。因此，提出了 SMFC-BTF 中甲苯降解的途径。SMFC-BTF不同部位生长的微生物种类存在显着差异，表明系统中甲苯去除过程存在空间差异。我们的结果为同时去除甲苯和能量回收提供了一个有前景的系统。