Industrial wastewater treatment using bioelectrochemical systems and the potential for energy recovery

Abstract

Energy crises and environmental pollution are predicted to be among the major global problems in the 21st century. Over past centuries, massive increase in human population and industrial development has resulted in energy crises, global climate change, environmental degradation, and associated health problems. Therefore, the greatest challenge for researchers is to find alternative sources of energy and means to prevent and reduce environmental degradation, due to which, biotechnological products and processes using renewable resources have gained attention during recent times. In this context, bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have the potential to provide solutions for simultaneous wastewater treatment and resource recovery in the form of bioenergy and other value added products. Both types of BES, viz., microbial fuel cell and microbial electrolysis cell, are capable of treating wastewater generated from a variety of industrial sources and producing energy (electricity, hydrogen, methane) as well as recovering other resources such as biomass, heavy metals, nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate), and minerals. This chapter is focused on providing a detailed overview of different BESs, more particularly, MFCs used for treatment of industrial wastewater, and the potential for bioenergy production. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.