Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Microbial Electrochemical Technologies for Wastewater Treatment: Principles and Evolution from Microbial Fuel Cells to Bioelectrochemical-Based Constructed Wetlands

Carlos A. Ramírez-Vargas
* ORCID logo ,
Amanda Prado
,
Carlos A. Arias
ORCID logo ,
Pedro N. Carvalho
ORCID logo ,
Abraham Esteve-Núñez
,
Hans Brix
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 19 July 2018 / Approved: 20 July 2018 / Online: 20 July 2018 (04:03:11 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Ramírez-Vargas, C.A.; Prado, A.; Arias, C.A.; Carvalho, P.N.; Esteve-Núñez, A.; Brix, H. Microbial Electrochemical Technologies for Wastewater Treatment: Principles and Evolution from Microbial Fuel Cells to Bioelectrochemical-Based Constructed Wetlands. Water 2018, 10, 1128. Ramírez-Vargas, C.A.; Prado, A.; Arias, C.A.; Carvalho, P.N.; Esteve-Núñez, A.; Brix, H. Microbial Electrochemical Technologies for Wastewater Treatment: Principles and Evolution from Microbial Fuel Cells to Bioelectrochemical-Based Constructed Wetlands. Water 2018, 10, 1128.

Abstract

Microbial electrochemical technologies (MET) rely on the presence of the metabolic activity of electroactive bacteria for the use of solid-state electrodes for oxidizing different kind of compound, that could lead to the synthesis of chemicals, bioremediation of polluted matrices, the treatment of contaminants of interest, as well as the recovery of energy. Keeping in mind those possibilities, since the beginning of the present century, there has been a growing interest in the use of electrochemical technologies for wastewater treatment, and if possible with simultaneous power generation. In the last years, there has been a growing interest to explore the possibility of merging MET with constructed wetlands, to offer a new option of intensified wetland system that could keep a high performance with a lower footprint. Based on that interest, this paper explains the general principles of MET, and the different known extracellular electron transfer mechanisms ruling the interaction between electroactive bacteria and potential solid-state electron acceptors. Also, the adoption of those principles for the development of MET set-ups for simultaneous wastewater treatment and power generation, and the challenges that the technology face. Ultimately, the most recent developments in set-ups that merges MET with constructed wetlands are presented and discussed.

Keywords

bioelectrochemical systems (BES); electroactive bacteria (EAB); extracelullar electron transfer (EET); microbial fuel cells (MFC); treatment wetlands

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Plant Sciences

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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