Waste or Gold? Bioelectrochemical Resource Recovery in Source-Separated Urine

In recent years, source-separated human urine has been highlighted as an effective resource for energy and nutrient recovery. However, even though several technologies exist for resource recovery, they have not been widely implemented. Among these technologies, bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) hold...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2020-09, Vol.38 (9), p.990-1006
Main Authors: Nazari, Safoora, Zinatizadeh, Ali A., Mirghorayshi, Mahsa, van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative energy
Biochemical fuel cells
bioelectrochemical resource recovery
Chemical oxygen demand
Economic conditions
Electrolysis
Electrolytic cells
Energy recovery
Food
Hydrogen
microbial electrolysis cells
microbial fuel cells
Microorganisms
Nutrients
Resource recovery
source-separated urine
Toilet facilities
Urine
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In recent years, source-separated human urine has been highlighted as an effective resource for energy and nutrient recovery. However, even though several technologies exist for resource recovery, they have not been widely implemented. Among these technologies, bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) hold promise as technically and economically interesting alternatives for sustainable resource recovery from source-separated urine. Here, we review the resource recovery performance of BESs, including microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), fed with source-separated urine over the past decade, and suggest an effective path forward toward their widespread implementation. Resource recovery is a key strategy to keep up with a consumption-driven society.Providing an abundant source of energy and nutrients, source-separated urine has proven its potential for sustainable recovery.The performance of urine-fed BES-based resource recovery is showing increasing promise.
ISSN:0167-7799
1879-3096
DOI:10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.03.007