The use of microbial fuel cells for soil remediation: a preliminary study on DDE

DDE is a very persistent and bioaccumulative polychlorinated compound from DDT transformation. Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) are environmentally friendly tools that convert the chemical energy of organic compounds present in the soil into electricity. The aim of this work was to test if MFCs can promote DDE degradation. MFCs containing contaminated soil were used under open circuit voltage (OCV) and closed-circuit voltage (CCV) conditions. The voltage was measured daily for the OCV condition. Power generation was calculated in the case of the CCV condition. Chemical analysis for measuring the DDE concentration and microbiological analyses for evaluating the bacterial community abundance and activity were performed at 0, 60 and 180 days. The results show that MFCs were able to promote DDE degradation