Abstract The use of power generated by constructed wetland–microbial fuel cells (CW‐MFCs) has recently attracted considerable attention. This study is the first to investigate the use of electricity generated by CW‐MFCs to power constructed wetland microbial electrolysis cells (CW‐MECs) for enhanced pollutant removal from tailwater with a low C/N ratio. Substrate optimization strategies to improve the electricity‐generation performance of CW‐MFCs were systematically investigated, and the performance of the CW‐MFC and CW‐MEC coupled system for advanced tailwater treatment was evaluated. The results demonstrated that CW‐MFCs with a pyrite (PY) anode substrate exhibited higher voltage and current density than those with activated carbon (AC) or mixed pyrite–activated carbon (PA) substrates. The PY system achieved a 4.4‐fold higher power density (93.98 mW/m 3 ) than the AC system (21.29 mW/m 3 ). Substrate optimization also influenced the microbial community structure and abundance in the CW‐MFC anode zone. Specifically, the PA and PY systems showed a significantly ( p < 0.05) higher relative abundance of electroactive bacteria (EAB) than the AC group, while the AC and PA systems harbored a higher relative abundance of denitrification‐associated bacteria. Substrate type is a key environmental determinant driving microbial community differentiation. The CW‐MFC and CW‐MEC coupled system achieved removal efficiencies of 89.20 ± 1.80% for COD, 61.03 ± 0.60% for NH₄ + ‐N, 94.82 ± 1.87% for NO₃ − ‐N, and 83.60 ± 3.35% for total phosphorus (TP) from low C/N ratio tailwater. The self‐powered CW‐MFC and CW‐MEC coupled system presents a transformative pathway toward energy‐neutral advanced wastewater treatment, effectively addressing key challenges in sustainable water management.
Zhao et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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