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Conductive materials have been demonstrated to enhance sludge methanogenesis, but few researches have concentrated on the interaction among conductive materials, microorganisms and their immediate living environment. In this study, Fenton iron mud with a high abundance of Fe(III) was recycled and applied in anaerobic reactors to promote anaerobic digestion (AD) process. The results show that the primary content of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) such as polysaccharides and proteins increased significantly, possibly promoting microbial aggregation. Furthermore, with the increment of redox mediators including humic substances in EPS and Fe(III) introduced by Fenton iron mud, the direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between methanogens and interacting bacteria could be accelerated, which enhanced the rate of methanogenesis in anaerobic digestion (35.21 ± 4.53% increase compared to the control). The further analysis of the anaerobic microbial community confirmed the fact that Fenton iron mud enriched functional microorganisms, such as the abundance of CO 2 -reducing (e.g. Chloroflexi) and Fe(III)-reducing bacteria (e.g., Tepidimicrobium), thereby expediting the electron transfer reaction in the AD process via microbial DIET and dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR). This work will make it possible for using the recycled hazardous material - Fenton iron mud to improve the performance of anaerobic granular sludge during methanogenesis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper, (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Iron-copper bimetal supported on mesoporous γ-Al 2 O 3 with different Fe/Cu ratios was prepared via a modified evaporation-induced self-assembly method and employed to degrade 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in a Fenton-like process. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrum and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy results confirmed the co-doping of Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ and Cu + /Cu 2+ into the lattice of γ-Al 2 O 3 through the bonds of AlOFe and AlOCu. With the iron and copper co-doped in γ-Al 2 O 3 , three-fold oxygen vacancies (V 0 ) could be achieved compared with that of non-metal catalysts, which was favorable for the reduction of iron and copper species. The 1Fe3Cu-γ-Al 2 O 3 with a Fe/Cu mass ratio of 1:3 exhibited the highest activity on Fenton-like degradation of 4-CP due to the synergistic effects of Fe and Cu by facilitating the electron transfer in the recycles of Cu + /Cu 2+ and Fe 2+ /Fe 3+ based on the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and electro paramagnetic resonance analysis. The utilization efficiency of H 2 O 2 was as high as 86.0% when 4-CP almost disappeared (i.e., 99.7 percent of 0.78 mM 4-CP) at 240 min and pH 7.0, additionally, their dechlorination and TOC removal efficiencies were 92.0% and 81.6%, respectively. The catalyst also displayed a good performance after 5th cycles. Furthermore, a possible mechanism for activation of OH on the catalyst surface was also proposed., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The unique electrocoagulator proposed in this study is highly efficient at removing Ni-EDTA, providing a potential remediation option for wastewater containing lower concentrations of Ni-EDTA (Ni ≤ 10 mg L -1 ). In the electrocoagulation (EC) system, cylindrical graphite was used as a cathode, and a packed-bed formed from iron scraps was used as an anode. The results showed that the removal of Ni-EDTA increased with the application of current and favoured acidic conditions. We also found that the iron scrap packed-bed anode was superior in its treatment ability and specific energy consumption (SECS) compared with the iron rod anode. In addition, the packed density and temperature had a large influence on the energy consumption (ECS). Over 94.3% of Ni and 95.8% of TOC were removed when conducting the EC treatment at an applied current of 0.5 A, initial pH of 3, air-purged rate 0.2 L min -1 , anode packed density of 400 kg m -3 temperature of 313 K and time of 30 min. SEM analysis of the iron scraps indicated that the specific area of the anode increased after the EC. The XRD analysis of flocs produced during EC revealed that hematite (α-Fe 2 O 3 ) and magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) were the main by-products under aerobic and anoxic conditions, respectively. A kinetic study demonstrated that the removal of Ni-EDTA followed a first-order model with the current parameters. Moreover, the removal efficiency of real wastewater was essentially consistent with that of synthetic wastewater., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)