When bioelectrochemical systems meet forward osmosis: Accomplishing wastewater treatment and reuse through synergy

  • Yaobin Lu
  • , Mohan Qin
  • , Heyang Yuan
  • , Ibrahim M. Abu-Reesh
  • , Zhen He

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

50 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) and forward osmosis (FO) are two emerging technologies with great potential for energy-efficient water/wastewater treatment. BES takes advantage of microbial interaction with a solid electron acceptor/donor to accomplish bioenergy recovery from organic compounds, and FO can extract high-quality water driven by an osmotic pressure. The strong synergy between those two technologies may complement each other and collaboratively address water-energy nexus. FO can assist BES with achieving water recovery (for future reuse), enhancing electricity generation, and supplying energy for accomplishing the cathode reactions; while BES may help FO with degrading organic contaminants, providing sustainable draw solute, and stabilizing water flux. This work has reviewed the recent development that focuses on the synergy between BES and FO, analyzed the advantages of each combination, and provided perspectives for future research. The findings encourage further investigation and development for efficient coordination between BES and FO towards an integrated system for wastewater treatment and reuse.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)38-50
Number of pages13
JournalWater (Switzerland)
Volume7
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015

Keywords

  • Bioelectrochemical systems
  • Bioenergy
  • Draw solution
  • Forward osmosis
  • Microbial desalination cells
  • Microbial electrolysis cells
  • Microbial fuel cells
  • Wastewater treatment and reuse

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