Short CommunicationMicrobial community structure of different electrode materials in constructed wetland incorporating microbial fuel cell

- Performance of CW-MFC with different electrode materials were compared.
- Different microbial community distribution was observed around the anode electrode.
- Abundance of Proteobacteria in CFF and FN was higher than that of SSM and GR.
- CW-MFC utilizing FN anode electrode improved relative abundance of Dechloromonas.

The microbial fuel cell coupled with constructed wetland (CW-MFC) microcosms were operated under fed-batch mode for evaluating the effect of electrode materials on bioelectricity generation and microbial community composition. Experimental results indicated that the bioenergy output in CW-MFC increased with the substrate concentration; maximum average voltage (177 mV) was observed in CW-MFC with carbon fiber felt (CFF). In addition, the four different materials resulted in the formation of significantly different microbial community distribution around the anode electrode. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria in CFF and foamed nickel (FN) was significantly higher than that in stainless steel mesh (SSM) and graphite rod (GR) samples. Notably, the findings indicate that CW-MFC utilizing FN anode electrode could apparently improve relative abundance of Dechloromonas, which has been regarded as a denitrifying and phosphate accumulating microorganism.