Graphene-Modulated Removal Performance of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollutants in a Sequencing Batch Chlorella Reactor

In this work, the influence of graphene on nitrogen and phosphorus in a batch Chlorella reactor was studied. The impact of graphene on the removal performance of Chlorella was investigated in a home-built sewage treatment system with seven identical sequencing batch Chlorella reactors with graphene contents of 0 mg/L (T1), 0.05 mg/L (T2), 0.1 mg/L (T3), 0.2 mg/L (T4), 0.4 mg/L (T5), 0.8 mg/L (T6) and 10 mg/L (T7). The influence of graphene concentration and reaction time on the pollutant removal performance was studied. The malondialdehyde (MDA) and total superoxide dismutase (SOD) concentrations in each reactor were measured, and optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterizations were performed to determine the related mechanism. The results show that after 168 h, the total nitrogen (TN), ammonia nitrogen (AN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal rates of reactors T1–T7 become stable, and the TN, AN and TP removal rates were gradually reduced with increasing graphene concentration. At 96 h, the concentrations of both MDA and SOD in T1–T7 gradually increased as the graphene concentration increased. In optical microscopy and SEM measurements, it was found that graphene was adsorbed on the surface of Chlorella, and entered Chlorella cells, deforming and reducing Chlorella. Through the blood plate count method, we estimated an average Chlorella reduction of 16%. According to the water quality and microscopic experiments, it can be concluded that the addition of graphene causes oxidative damage to microalgae and destruction of the Chlorella cell wall and cell membrane, inhibiting the nitrogen and phosphorus removal in Chlorella reactors. This study provides theoretical and practical support for the safe use of graphene.