Evaluation of the respective contribution of anode and cathode for triclosan degradation in a bioelectrochemical system.

[Display omitted] • TCS was efficiently degraded in single- and dual-chamber BES reactors. • The initial concentration, buffer solution, and applied voltage were optimized. • Both bioanode and biocathode demonstrated substantial contributions to TCS degradation. • Hydrolysis and dechlorination were the major pathways of TCS degradation. In this work, the bioelectrochemical system (BES) is a feasible alternative for successfully degrading typical refractory emerging contaminant triclosan (TCS). A single-chamber BES reactor with an initial TCS concentration of 1 mg/L, an applied voltage of 0.8 V, and a solution buffered with 50 mM PBS degraded 81.4 ± 0.2% of TCS, exhibiting TCS degradation efficiency improvement to 90.6 ± 0.2% with a biocathode formed from a reversed bioanode. Both bioanode and biocathode were able to degrade TCS with comparable efficiencies of 80.8 ± 4.9% and 87.3 ± 0.4%, respectively. Dechlorination and hydrolysis were proposed as the TCS degradation pathway in the cathode chamber, and another hydroxylation pathway was exclusive in the anode chamber. Microbial community structure analysis indicated Propionibacteriaceae was the predominant member in all electrode biofilms, and the exoelectrogen Geobacter was enriched in anode biofilms. This study comprehensively revealed the feasibility of operating BES technology for TCS degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]