Sustainable technologies for energy production and storage are currently in great demand. Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) offer promising solutions for both. Several attempts have been made to improve carbon felt electrode characteristics with various pretreatments in order to enhance performance. This study was motivated by gaps in current knowledge of the impact of pretreatments on the enrichment and microbial composition of bioelectrochemical systems. Therefore, electrodes were treated with poly(neutral red), chitosan, or isopropanol in a first step and then fixed in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). Four MECs consisting of organic substance-degrading bioanodes and methane-producing biocathodes were set up and operated in batch mode by controlling the bioanode at 400 mV vs. Ag/AgCl (3M NaCl). After 1 month of operation, Enterococcus species were dominant microorganisms attached to all bioanodes and independent of electrode pretreatment. However, electrode pretreatments led to a decrease in microbial diversity and the enrichment of specific electroactive genera, according to the type of modification used. The MEC containing isopropanol-treated electrodes achieved the highest performance due to presence of both Enterococcus and Geobacter. The obtained results might help to select suitable electrode pretreatments and support growth conditions for desired electroactive microorganisms, whereby performance of BESs and related applications, such as BES-based biosensors, could be enhanced.

Graphical AbstractIdentfication of plastics degradation and microbial community analysis of Rumen.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and nylon find their main applications in working clothes, domestic furniture and as indoor decoration (curtains and carpets). The increasing attention on healthy lifestyle, together with protection and safety, gained a strong interest in today's society. In this context, reducing the flammability of textiles has been tackled by designing flame retardants (FRs) able to suppress or delay the flame propagation. Commercially available FRs for textiles often consist of brominated, chlorinated and organo-phosphorus compounds, which are considered a great concern for human health and for the environment. In this study, Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) was investigated as a green and eco-friendly alternative to halogen-containing FRs. DNA is in fact able to provide flame retardant properties due to its intrinsically intumescent building blocks (deoxyribose, phosphoric-polyphosphoric acid, and nitrogen-containing bases). In a first step, anchor groups (i.e., carboxyl groups) for subsequent coupling of DNA were introduced to PET and nylon-6 fabrics via limited surface hydrolysis with Humicola insolens cutinase (HiC). Released monomer/oligomers were measured via HPLC (1 mM of BHET for PET and 0.07 mM of caprolactam from nylon after 72 h). In a next step, DNA immobilization on the activated polymers was studied by using three different coupling systems, namely: EDC/NHS, dopamine, and tyrosine. DNA coupling was confirmed via FT-IR that showed typical bands at 1,220, 970, and 840 cm−1. The tyrosine/DNA coupling on nylon fabrics resulted to be the most effective as certified by the lowest burning rate and total burning time (35 s, 150 mm, and 4.3 mm*s−1 for the blank and 3.5 s, 17.5 mm, and 5 mm* s−1 for nylon/tyrosine/DNA) which was also confirmed by FT-IR and ESEM/EDS measurements. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) further confirmed that tyrosine/DNA coated nylon showed a lower thermal degradation between 450 and 625°C when compared to the untreated samples.

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