Flame-Oxidized Stainless-Steel Anode as a Probe in Bioelectrochemical System-Based Biosensors to Monitor the Biochemical Oxygen Demand of Wastewater.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is a widely used index of water quality in wastewater treatment; however, conventional measurement methods are time-consuming. In this study, we analyzed a novel flame-oxidized stainless steel anode (FO-SSA) for use as the probe of bioelectrochemical system (BES)-based biosensors to monitor the BOD of treated swine wastewater. A thinner biofilm formed on the FO-SSA compared with that on a common carbon-cloth anode (CCA). The FO-SSA was superior to the CCA in terms of rapid sensing; the response time of the FO-SSA to obtain the value of R2 > 0.8 was 1 h, whereas the CCA required 4 h. These results indicate that the FO-SSA offers better performance than traditional CCAs in BES biosensors and can be used to improve biomonitoring of wastewater.