Performance of bioelectrochemical process using steel wool and carbon cloth electrodes to remove phenol in the aquatic environment

Phenolic compounds are industrial chemicals that they are interested in due to the many health and environmental concerns. The aim of this study was to examine bio-electrochemical system performance to remove phenol from synthetic wastewater using a carbon cloth (as a bio-cathode) and steel wool (as a bio - anode) electrodes with a fixed bed.
The present study was an experimental study in laboratory scale. It was carried out in batch mode using1literplexiglass reactor. After starting up the system, effective parameters on process efficiency, including the C/N ratio, initial phenol concentration, applied current and reaction time were evaluated. Also, electrical conductivity, pH and redox potential (EC /pH /ORP) were studied during the reaction.
The results showed that with increasing the applied current from 2 mA to 6 mA (0.9 to 1.2 V), the bioelectrochemical degradation efficiency was promoted from 65% to 96.26%. The phenol removal was obtained 100% in C/N=5. The energy and power consumption were calculated 0.01- 0.14KWh/m3 and 0.02-0.23, respectively.
The experiments indicated the efficient removal of phenol in wastewater by electrochemical bioreactor using carbon cloth (as bio-cathode) and steel wool (as bio-anode) electrodes.This efficiency was due to the high bioelectrodes conductivity, more surface area for biofilm formation, operating current density and power consumption reduction. The performance of this reactor can also be considered to eliminate other biodegradable organic compounds