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Microbial electrolysis cells: An emerging technology for wastewater treatment and energy recovery. From laboratory to pilot plant and beyond

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  • Escapa, A.
  • Mateos, R.
  • Martínez, E.J.
  • Blanes, J.

Abstract

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are cutting edge technology with great potential to become an alternative to conventional wastewater treatments (anaerobic digestion, activated sludge, etc.). One of the main features of MECs is that they allow organic matter present in wastewater to be converted into hydrogen thus helping to offset the energy consumed during treatment. There are already some large-scale experiments under way but MECs are far from being a mature technology; important challenges, mostly techno-economic in nature (cost of materials, hydrogen management, etc.) remain. This study provides an up-to-date review of the latest developments in MECs, paying special attention to those aspects that may be critical to the commercial viability of MECs for wastewater treatment and hydrogen production. It explores the suitability of different cell configurations and the scalability of MEC designs; it also reviews many of the laboratory, semi-pilot and pilot scale experiments. The review provides a critical analysis of the current state and the future prospects for MECs; it highlights factors crucial to the development of successful MEC designs, identifies potential application niches and discusses the integration of MECs with energy transportation systems.

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  • Escapa, A. & Mateos, R. & Martínez, E.J. & Blanes, J., 2016. "Microbial electrolysis cells: An emerging technology for wastewater treatment and energy recovery. From laboratory to pilot plant and beyond," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 942-956.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:55:y:2016:i:c:p:942-956
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.11.029
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    2. Beegle, Jeffrey R. & Borole, Abhijeet P., 2018. "Energy production from waste: Evaluation of anaerobic digestion and bioelectrochemical systems based on energy efficiency and economic factors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 343-351.
    3. Ndayisenga, Fabrice & Yu, Zhisheng & Zheng, Jianzhong & Wang, Bobo & Liang, Hongxia & Phulpoto, Irfan Ali & Habiyakare, Telesphore & Zhou, Dandan, 2021. "Microbial electrohydrogenesis cell and dark fermentation integrated system enhances biohydrogen production from lignocellulosic agricultural wastes: Substrate pretreatment towards optimization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
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    6. Rousseau, Raphaël & Etcheverry, Luc & Roubaud, Emma & Basséguy, Régine & Délia, Marie-Line & Bergel, Alain, 2020. "Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC): Strengths, weaknesses and research needs from electrochemical engineering standpoint," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
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    10. Ki Nam Kim & Sung Hyun Lee & Hwapyong Kim & Young Ho Park & Su-Il In, 2018. "Improved Microbial Electrolysis Cell Hydrogen Production by Hybridization with a TiO 2 Nanotube Array Photoanode," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-13, November.
    11. Oliot, Manon & Galier, Sylvain & Roux de Balmann, Hélène & Bergel, Alain, 2016. "Ion transport in microbial fuel cells: Key roles, theory and critical review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1682-1704.
    12. Khan, M.Z. & Nizami, A.S. & Rehan, M. & Ouda, O.K.M. & Sultana, S. & Ismail, I.M. & Shahzad, K., 2017. "Microbial electrolysis cells for hydrogen production and urban wastewater treatment: A case study of Saudi Arabia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P1), pages 410-420.
    13. Elia Judith Martínez & Ana Sotres & Cristián B. Arenas & Daniel Blanco & Olegario Martínez & Xiomar Gómez, 2019. "Improving Anaerobic Digestion of Sewage Sludge by Hydrogen Addition: Analysis of Microbial Populations and Process Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, March.
    14. Zhang, Ying & Liu, Mengmeng & Zhou, Minghua & Yang, Huijia & Liang, Liang & Gu, Tingyue, 2019. "Microbial fuel cell hybrid systems for wastewater treatment and bioenergy production: Synergistic effects, mechanisms and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 13-29.
    15. Lin, Richen & O'Shea, Richard & Deng, Chen & Wu, Benteng & Murphy, Jerry D., 2021. "A perspective on the efficacy of green gas production via integration of technologies in novel cascading circular bio-systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    16. Wu, Lan & Wei, Wei & Song, Lan & Woźniak-Karczewska, Marta & Chrzanowski, Łukasz & Ni, Bing-Jie, 2021. "Upgrading biogas produced in anaerobic digestion: Biological removal and bioconversion of CO2 in biogas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    17. Richard Ochieng & Alemayehu Gebremedhin & Shiplu Sarker, 2022. "Integration of Waste to Bioenergy Conversion Systems: A Critical Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, April.
    18. Jiseon You & John Greenman & Ioannis Ieropoulos, 2018. "Novel Analytical Microbial Fuel Cell Design for Rapid in Situ Optimisation of Dilution Rate and Substrate Supply Rate, by Flow, Volume Control and Anode Placement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-12, September.
    19. Bhim Sen Thapa & Soumya Pandit & Sanchita Bipin Patwardhan & Sakshi Tripathi & Abhilasha Singh Mathuriya & Piyush Kumar Gupta & Ram Bharosay Lal & Tanmoy Roy Tusher, 2022. "Application of Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) for Pharmaceutical Wastewater Treatment: An Overview and Future Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-19, July.
    20. Leicester, Daniel & Amezaga, Jaime & Heidrich, Elizabeth, 2020. "Is bioelectrochemical energy production from wastewater a reality? Identifying and standardising the progress made in scaling up microbial electrolysis cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    21. René Alejandro Flores-Estrella & Victor Alcaraz-Gonzalez & Andreas Haarstrick, 2022. "A Catalytic Effectiveness Factor for a Microbial Electrolysis Cell Biofilm Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, June.
    22. Walter, Xavier Alexis & You, Jiseon & Winfield, Jonathan & Bajarunas, Ugnius & Greenman, John & Ieropoulos, Ioannis A., 2020. "From the lab to the field: Self-stratifying microbial fuel cells stacks directly powering lights," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    23. Sekoai, Patrick T. & Ghimire, Anish & Ezeokoli, Obinna T. & Rao, Subramanya & Ngan, Wing Y. & Habimana, Olivier & Yao, Yuan & Yang, Pu & Yiu Fung, Aster Hei & Yoro, Kelvin O. & Daramola, Michael O. & , 2021. "Valorization of volatile fatty acids from the dark fermentation waste Streams-A promising pathway for a biorefinery concept," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

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