Bioelectrochemical enhancement of the anaerobic digestion of thermal-alkaline pretreated sludge in microbial electrolysis cells

The engineering of replacements for crude oil is a priority within industrial biotechnology. Biogas, produced by anaerobic digestion (AD) during organic waste degradation, has been used for electricity generation and heating. Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are an emerging technology which when combined with AD can produce higher yields of such energy whilst simultaneously treating waste water and sludge. MECs are bioelectrochemical systems which utilize the metabolism of microbes to oxidize organics. The majority of the research has been focused on biohydrogen production, despite associated issues, which has resulted in poor commercialization prospects. Consequently, scientists are now suggesting that methane production should be the focus of MEC technology. This chapter presents lab research on the bioprocessing of biomethane using AD and MECs and addresses important issues, namely the lack of pilot-scale studies. Downstream processing techniques are discussed, as well as a novel suggestion of further utilising MECs in the purification process.

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Integration of microbial electrolysis cells with anaerobic digestion to treat beer industry wastewater

Integrated Microbial Fuel Cells for Wastewater Treatment ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-817493-7.00015-1 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 313-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Thangavel Sangeetha ◽

Chellappan Praveen Rajneesh ◽

Wei-Mon Yan

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Microbial Electrolysis Cells ◽

Beer Industry ◽

Electrolysis Cells ◽

Microbial Electrolysis ◽

Industry Wastewater

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Toward bioenergy recovery from waste activated sludge: improving bio-hydrogen production and sludge reduction by pretreatment coupled with anaerobic digestion–microbial electrolysis cells

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/c5ra07080e ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (60) ◽

pp. 48413-48420 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Zhangwei He ◽

Aijuan Zhou ◽

Chunxue Yang ◽

Zechong Guo ◽

Aijie Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Hydrogen Production ◽

Activated Sludge ◽

Waste Activated Sludge ◽

Sludge Reduction ◽

Microbial Electrolysis Cells ◽

Electrolysis Cells ◽

Microbial Electrolysis

A novel and attractive technology for renewable bioenergy recovery from WAS and sludge reduction has been investigated.

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A review on the applications of microbial electrolysis cells in anaerobic digestion

Bioresource Technology ◽

10.1016/j.biortech.2018.02.003 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 255 ◽

pp. 340-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Zhengsheng Yu ◽

Xiaoyun Leng ◽

Shuai Zhao ◽

Jing Ji ◽

Tuoyu Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Microbial Electrolysis Cells ◽

Electrolysis Cells ◽

Microbial Electrolysis

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Microbial electrolysis cells for electromethanogenesis: Materials, configurations and operations

Environmental Engineering Research ◽

10.4491/eer.2020.484 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 200484-0

Author(s):

Aditya Amrut Pawar ◽

Anandakrishnan Karthic ◽

Sangmin Lee ◽

Soumya Pandit ◽

Sokhee P. Jung

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Agricultural Waste ◽

Electrolysis Cell ◽

Microbial Electrolysis Cells ◽

Untreated Wastewater ◽

Species Formation ◽

Electrolysis Cells ◽

Animal Excreta ◽

Microbial Electrolysis

Anaerobic digestion is a traditional method of producing methane-containing biogas by utilizing the methanogenic conversion of organic matter like agricultural waste and animal excreta. Recently, the application of microbial electrolysis cell (MECs) technology to a traditional anaerobic digestion system has been extensively studied to find new opportunities in increasing wastewater treatability and methane yield and producing valuable chemicals. The finding that both anodic and cathodic bacteria can synthesize methane has led to the efforts of optimizing multiple aspects like microbial species, formation of biofilms, substrate sources and electrode surface for higher production of the combustible compound. MECs are very fascinating because of its ability to uptake a wide variety of raw materials including untreated wastewater (and its microbial content as biocatalysts). Extensive work in this field has established different systems of MECs for hydrogen production and biodegradation of organic compounds. This review is dedicated to explaining the operating principles and mechanism of the MECs for electromethanogenesis using different biochemical pathways. Emphasis on single- and double-chambered MECs along with reactor components is provided for a comprehensive description of the technology. Methane production using hydrogen evolution reaction and nanocatalysts has also been discussed.

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