Bioelectrochemical system-mediated waste valorization

Abstract

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are a new and emerging technology in the field of fermentation technology. Electrical energy was provided externally to the microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) to generate hydrogen or value-added chemicals, including caustic, formic acid, acetic acid, and peroxide. Also, BES was designed to recover nutrients, metals or remove recalcitrant compounds. The variety of naturally existing microorganisms and enzymes act as a biocatalyst to induce potential differences amid the electrodes. BESs can be performed with non-catalyzed electrodes (both anode and cathode) under favorable circumstances, unlike conventional fuel cells. In recent years, value-added chemical producing microbial electrosynthesis (MES) technology has intensely broadened the prospect for BES. An additional strategy includes the introduction of innovative technologies that help with the manufacturing of alternative materials for electrode preparation, ion-exchange membranes, and pioneering designs. Because of this, BES is emerging as a promising technology. This article deliberates recent signs of progress in BESs so far, focusing on their diverse applications beyond electricity generation and resulting performance.

Bioelectrochemical cells as a green energy source for electrochemical treatment of water and wastewater

“…They also have a greater substrate degradation rate, electron transmission efficacy, and reduced material and system charges. For this purpose, EAB are used in MESs [16,57]. Throughout their anaerobic respiration, these organisms convert the chemical energy of substrates to electrical energy, which is then used to produce electricity [58].…”

“…MFCs can decompose a wide range of organic substances, allowing for treatment and resource recovery [15]. With external energy, bacteria may electrochemically convert inorganic carbon to biofuels and value-added chemicals such as biohydrogen, biomethane, acetic acid, and alcohols [13,16].…”

Bacterial community structure of electrogenic biofilm developed on modified graphite anode in microbial fuel cell

“…Transforming organic compounds in wastewater into valuable derivatives using bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) has drawn advancing attraction due to its prospect in miscellaneous implementations 3 . Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an attractive addendum to this biotechnological venture for their potential to break down the biodegradable organic compounds that exist in wastewater bodies using electroactive microbes and simultaneously generate bioelectrical power through bioelectrochemical transformation strategies 4 . The kingpin of this conversion process is the natural microbial populations in the wastewater environment that colonize the MFC electrodes as biofilm and initiate the conversion process through their biocatalytic activities 5 , 6 .…”

Industrial bioelectrochemistry for waste valorization: State of the art and challenges

“…Bioelectrochemistry, which combined electrochemical and biochemical processes, has attracted much attention in the last ten years due to the contribution in terms of catalytic properties that biological agents (enzymes or living cells) can make to meet the sustainability and circular economy principles (de Fouchécour et al, 2022;Al-Sahari et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2022;Chandrasekhar et al, 2021;Cai et al, 2022). The combination of biological systems with electrochemical cells is possible due to the fact that a key part of biological systems are involved in fundamental processes of energy use and capture (Barlett, 2008).…”