Improved biodegradation of total organic carbon and polychlorinated biphenyls for electricity generation by sediment microbial fuel cell and surfactant addition

The biodegradation of total organic carbon (TOC) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediment was studied in different treatments. This study showed that the combined application of a sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC) and surfactant led to the highest removal efficiencies (58.91% of TOC and 43.26% of PCBs) after 60 days of operation, and produced the maximum power output (0.821 V of voltage and 18.30 W m^-3 of power density). TOC and PCBs can diffuse between sediment and overlying water. The overlying water of natural anaerobic degradation sediment led to the greatest increase in PCB concentration (4.43 ng L^-1), following the addition of 6 mg kg^-1 PCBs into sediments. Considering the enhanced degradation and high power output, the combined application of the SMFC and surfactant addition offered a more efficient and promising way to purify the contaminated sediment and overlying water.