Evaluation of degradation behavior over tetracycline hydrochloride by microbial electrochemical technology: Performance, kinetics, and microbial communities

Tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH), as a typical antibiotic-pollutant, is desired to enhance its removal from public environment, due to its toxicity and persistence. Microbial electrochemical technology (MET) is a series complex microorganisms-driven processes with characteristics of simultaneous wastewater treatment and electricity generation. The study was presented to evaluate the TCH removal behavior and power generation performance through the co-metabolism under constant glucose with different TCH concentrations using MET. It was found that the TCH removal efficiency arrived at 40% during the first 6 h, when TCH concentrations ranged from 1 to 50 mg/L. It was interesting that TCH degradation rate increased to a maximum of 4.15 × 10−2 h−1 with its concentrations varying from 1 to 20 mg/L, however, the further increase to 50 mg/L in TCH concentration resulted in a reverse 66% reduction. In the meantime, the generated bioelectricity declared a similar fluctuation trend with a maximum power density of 600 mW/m2 under the condition of 20 mg/L TCH co-degradation with glucose. What's more, the TCH inhibition effect fitted well with Haldane's model, indicating that the microbial electrochemical system had a better potency toward TCH toxicity than that reported (EC50 = 2.2 mg/L). Thauera as mainly functional aromatics-degrading bacteria and Bdellovibrio against bacterial pathogens, only existed in the mixed cultures with TCH and glucose, indicating extremely remarkable changes in bacterial community with TCH addition. In summary, a new approach for the anaerobic biodegradation of TCH was explored through co-metabolism with glucose using MET. The results should be useful for antibiotics wastewater disposal of containing TCH. •Anaerobic co-metabolism of TCH was considered by MET.•TCH concentration of 20 mg/L reached the highest degradation rate and power density.•The effect of substrate inhibition was fitted well by Haldane's model.•The potency of microbial antitoxicity was far greater than that reported.•Aromatic-degrading Thauera was only existed in the co-cultures.