Ammonia recycling enables sustainable operation of bioelectrochemical systems.

Optimization of temperature and supporting electrolyte for ammonium removal using bioelectrochemical systems

High concentrations of ammonium in drinking water can cause many diseases and environmental problems such as eutrophication. Therefore, high-performance and eco-friendly methods for purification are of great importance and must be considered. Recently, bioelectrochemical systems have been successfully applied for the removal of many pollutants from water and wastewater. In the present work, amm...

Sustainable and Efficient Pathways for Bioenergy Recovery from Low-Value Process Streams via Bioelectrochemical Systems in Biorefineries

Conversion of biomass into bioenergy is possible via multiple pathways resulting in the production of biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower. Efficient and sustainable conversion of biomass, however, requires consideration of many environmental and societal parameters in order to minimize negative impacts. Integration of multiple conversion technologies and inclusion of upcoming alternatives, such...

Theory of ion transport with fast acid-base equilibrations in bioelectrochemical systems.

Bioelectrochemical systems recover valuable components and energy in the form of hydrogen or electricity from aqueous organic streams. We derive a one-dimensional steady-state model for ion transport in a bioelectrochemical system, with the ions subject to diffusional and electrical forces. Since most of the ionic species can undergo acid-base reactions, ion transport is combined in our model w...

Understanding Ammonium Transport in Bioelectrochemical Systems towards its Recovery

We report an integrated experimental and simulation study of ammonia recovery using microbial electrolysis cells (MECs). The transport of various species during the batch-mode operation of an MEC was examined experimentally and the results were used to validate the mathematical model for such an operation. It was found that, while the generated electrical current through the system tends to aci...

Innovative bioelectrochemical-anaerobic-digestion coupled system for ammonia recovery and biomethane production from ammonia-rich residues