Integrated energy view of wastewater treatment: A potential of electrochemical biodegradation

doi:10.1007/s11783-021-1486-3

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2022, Vol. 16

Issue (4) : 52 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1486-3

PERSPECTIVE

Integrated energy view of wastewater treatment: A potential of electrochemical biodegradation

Yuqing Yan, Xin Wang(

)

MOE Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria / Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control / College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China

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Abstract

• Energy is needed to accelerate the biological wastewater treatment.

• Electrical energy input in traditional technology is indirect and inefficient.

• Direct injection of electricity can be a game changer to maximize energy efficiency.

• Microbial electrochemical unit for decentralized wastewater treatment is proposed.

It has been more than one century since the activated sludge process was invented. Despite its proven stability and reliability, the energy (especially the electrical energy) use in wastewater treatment should evolve to meet the increasingly urgent demand of energy efficiency. This paper discusses how the energy utilized in conventional biological wastewater treatment can be altered by switching the indirect energy input to a direct electricity injection, which is achieved by the electrode integration providing extra thermodynamic driving force to biodegradation. By using electrodes instead of oxygen as terminal electron acceptors, the electrical energy can be utilized more efficiently, and the key of direct use of electrical energy in biodegradation is the development of highly active electroactive biofilm and the increase of electron transfer between microbes and the electrode. Furthermore, the synergy of different microbial electrochemical units has additional benefit in energy and resource recovery, making wastewater treatment more sustainable.

Keywords Biological wastewater treatment Integrated energy view Electroactive bacteria Extracellular electron transfer

Corresponding Author(s): Xin Wang

Issue Date: 23 September 2021

Cite this article:

Yuqing Yan,Xin Wang. Integrated energy view of wastewater treatment: A potential of electrochemical biodegradation[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2022, 16(4): 52.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-021-1486-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2022/V16/I4/52

Fig.1 (a) The integrated energy view in biological wastewater treatment. E_acceptor and E_pollutant are redox potentials of the electron acceptors and electron donors (most organic pollutants are electron donors). The blue and green pathways show the indirect and direct energy inputs. (b) The direct electrical energy injection through extracellular electron transfer (EET). (c) Sketch of METs for decentralized wastewater treatment. The pink arrows represent energy consumption, and green arrows represent H₂ energy recovery.

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