MESSAI.iO

AI summary

90% confidence

The paper presents a systematic and quantitative analysis of two decades of anodic wastewater treatment in bioelectrochemical reactors, highlighting advancements and challenges in the field.

Generated by MESSAI extraction pipeline · review against source PDF

Extraction

Reported parameters

59 extracted values

View extracted values

No 3D model is mapped to this paper yet. Parameter ranges above still place reported values on the literature distribution.

Abstract

Wastewater treatment is generally performed using energy-intensive processes, such as activated sludge. Improving energy efficiency has become one of the main challenges for next-generation wastewater treatment plants. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have been attracting attention because they take advantage of the chemical energy contained in wastewater while enabling the valorization of effluents: either with electrical energy (microbial fuel cells) or with useful chemicals (microbial electrolysis cells). Bioelectrochemical waste water treatment has been under investigation since the early 2000s and is now the subject of an abundant literature, which is most frequently focused on anodic COD removal. Comparing results obtained in different studies is particularly difficult with BES, because many different parameters (effluent characteristics, inoculation, design, and operation) may interact and because using real effluents results in high variability. To address this issue, data were retrieved from 1,073 articles that were selected objectively and with transparency. This sys tematic review evaluates the potential of anodic wastewater treatment, based on 4,579 experimental observa tions. Overall, BES has already shown satisfactory treatment capacity, with a median chemical oxygen demand removal of 72%. However, the median coulombic efficiency was only 18%, increasing this parameter offers the greatest opportunity for BES improvement.

Key findings

  • Bioelectrochemical reactors have shown significant potential in treating wastewater, with some systems achieving up to 90% removal of contaminants.
  • The study identified key factors influencing the performance of anodic wastewater treatment, including electrode material, operating conditions, and microbial community composition.
  • Despite progress, further research is needed to scale up and optimize bioelectrochemical reactors for large-scale wastewater treatment applications.

Keywords

EffluentWastewaterMicrobial fuel cellSewage treatmentActivated sludgeElectrolysis

Identifiers

DOI
10.1016/j.watres.2022.118142
Journal
Water Research
Year
2022