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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2021) | Viewed by 44621

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Dr. Shashi Kant Bhatia

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Department of Biological Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Interests: biocatalysis and enzyme engineering; biofuel; biomaterial; biochemical engineering; antibiotics; metabolic engineering; glycosylation; bioencapsulation; mutagenesis; protein purification; molecular biology
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Dear Colleagues,

A rapid growth in various industries and domestic activities is resulting in a huge amount of wastewater. Various types of wastewater, such as textile, municipal, dairy, pharmaceutical, swine, and aquaculture, etc., are produced regularly by respective industries. These wastewaters are rich in nutrient content and promote eutrophication in the ecosystem and pose a threat to flora and fauna. According to an estimate, eutrophication causes losses of almost 2 billion US dollars annually, affecting real estate and fishing activities. Traditionally, the main purpose of wastewater treatment is to protect downstream users from health risks. Treatment of wastewater is a costly process and recently resource recovery from wastewater and technology for the treatment wastewater have received more attention. The energy crisis is another issue as it is estimated that extensive use of fossil-based fuels such as petrol, natural gases, and coal is going to exhaust within the next 50 years. There is a need to search for new alternate renewable resources of energy to fulfill future energy demand. Microorganisms can be used to recover nutrients from wastewater and produce bioenergy (biodiesel, biohydrogen, bioelectricity, methane, etc.). A better understanding of the composition of various types of wastewater, reactor design, isolation, characterization, and metabolic engineering of microbes to improve the resource recovery process from wastewater can help to make wastewater-based biorefinery a reality.

This topic will include a series of research and review articles covering but not limited to the following issues:

Analysis of wastewaters and utilization as a feedstock for microbial fermentation and energy production.
Wastewater treatment process integration with other energy production technology.
Microalgae-based nutrient recovery from wastewater and bioenergy production.
Bioenergy production from recovered microbial biomass after wastewater treatment using dark fermentation, fermentation, and microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology.

Assoc. Pro Shashi Kant Bhatia
Guest Editor

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Keywords

wastewater
biodiesel
biohydrogen
methane
microbial fuel cell

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 1279 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production

by Shashi Kant Bhatia

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9214; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13169214 - 17 Aug 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1411

Abstract

A continuous increase in global population is demanding more development and industrialization, which leads to the production of various waste such as municipal wastewater, agricultural waste, industrial waste, medical waste, electronic wastes, etc [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

11 pages, 1156 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Circular Biorefinery-Integrating Wastewater Treatment with the Generation of an Energy Precursor and an Organic Fertilizer

by Tabassum-Abbasi, Pratiksha Patnaik, Ranjan Rahi and Shahid Abbas Abbasi

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5714; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14095714 - 09 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1678

Abstract

A circular (close-loop) biorefinery, which integrates wastewater treatment with the generation of an energy precursor and organic fertilizer, tested at the level of a pilot plant treating 54,000 L per day (LPD) of sewage, is described. In the biorefinery’s first stage, sewage was treated in a novel SHEFROL^® (sheet-flow-root-level) bioreactor at a very rapid rate, indicated by a hydraulic retention time of a mere 6 h, to a level that met the prevailing national standards for the discharge of treated sewage. The main bioagent of the reactor—water hyacinth—was then processed for the generation of energy precursors. For this, volatile fatty acids (VFA) were extracted in a simple batch reactor operating at ambient temperature and pressure. The ‘spent’ weeds were then converted into organic fertilizer, also at ambient temperature and pressure, by the high-rate vermicomposting process earlier reported by the authors. In this manner, wastewater treatment, energy production, and the generation of a fertilizer were achieved rapidly and efficiently, creating a circular close-loop system that required very little energy and materials and generated almost zero net waste. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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9 pages, 1817 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seafood Processing Chitin Waste for Electricity Generation in a Microbial Fuel Cell Using Halotolerant Catalyst Oceanisphaera arctica YHY1

by Ranjit Gurav, Shashi Kant Bhatia, Tae-Rim Choi, Hyun-Joong Kim, Hong-Ju Lee, Jang-Yeon Cho, Sion Ham, Min-Ju Suh, Sang-Hyun Kim, Sun-Ki Kim, Dong-Won Yoo and Yung-Hun Yang

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8508; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13158508 - 29 Jul 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2094

Abstract

In this study, a newly isolated halotolerant strain Oceanisphaera arctica YHY1, capable of hydrolyzing seafood processing waste chitin biomass, is reported. Microbial fuel cells fed with 1% chitin and 40 g L⁻¹ as the optimum salt concentration demonstrated stable electricity generation until 216 h (0.228 mA/cm²). N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) was the main by-product in the chitin degradation, reaching a maximum concentration of 192.01 mg g⁻¹ chitin at 120 h, whereas lactate, acetate, propionate, and butyrate were the major metabolites detected in the chitin degradation. O. arctica YHY1 utilized the produced GlcNAc, lactate, acetate, and propionate as the electron donors to generate the electric current. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) investigation revealed the participation of outer membrane-bound cytochromes, with extracellular redox mediators partly involved in the electron transfer mechanism. Furthermore, the changes in structural and functional groups in chitin after degradation were analyzed using FTIR and XRD. Therefore, the ability of O. arctica YHY1 to utilize waste chitin biomass under high salinities can be explored to treat seafood processing brine or high salt wastewater containing chitin with concurrent electricity generation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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14 pages, 521 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Ferric Oxide-Containing Waterworks Sludge Reduces Emissions of Hydrogen Sulfide in Biogas Plants and the Needs for Virgin Chemicals

by Tobias Persson, Kenneth M. Persson and Jenny Åström

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7416; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13137416 - 02 Jul 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2091

Abstract

Ferric oxide-containing waterworks sludge can be used to reduce the formation of hydrogen sulfide during anaerobic digestion. The ferric compound is reduced biochemically in the digester and forms insoluble pyrite in digester sludge. Virgin ferric chloride is often used to solve the hydrogen sulfide problem. Since 2013, Sydvatten AB has supplied a growing number of digestion plants in Sweden with ferric-containing dewatered waterworks sludge derived from the drinking water treatment plant Ringsjöverket to limit the formation of hydrogen sulfide. At the waterworks, ferric chloride is added to enhance the coagulation of organic matter from the source water. The sludge formed in this process is dewatered and landfilled, but also recycled in biogas production in order to decrease the hydrogen sulfide concentration. In this study, the use of sludge for hydrogen sulfide removal in digesters was technically and economically evaluated via case studies from 13 full-scale digesters in Sweden. Compared with the use of fresh ferric chloride, the operational costs are reduced by up to 50% by using sludge. The quality of the sludge is high and its content in metals is low or very low, especially when compared with the requirements of different certification standards for biosolid reuse applied in Sweden. The addition of waterworks sludge containing iron to a digester for the removal of dissolved hydrogen sulfide is a technically and economically good alternative when producing biogas. It is also one step closer to a circular economy, as replacing the use of virgin chemicals with the by-product waterworks sludge saves energy and materials and reduces the carbon footprint of the waterworks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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14 pages, 5917 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Wastewater Treatment Costs: A Research Overview through Bibliometric Analysis

by Leticia Gallego-Valero, Encarnación Moral-Parajes and Isabel María Román-Sánchez

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5066; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13095066 - 30 Apr 2021

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4683

Abstract

Given the problem of water scarcity and the importance of this resource for the sustainability of the planet, wastewater treatment and its costs have become a key issue for proper water management. Using bibliometric analysis of publications in the Web of Science database, this study presents an overview of the research on wastewater treatment costs in the period 1950–2020. The worldwide search returned 22,788 articles for wastewater treatment costs, which compares poorly to the results for research on wastewater treatment, accounting for only 12.34% of the total output on wastewater treatment. The findings of this study reveal the leading countries in this field of research (China, USA, India, Spain and the UK), with the articles being published in a wide range of high impact journals. Similarly, there are very few results on UV and chlorination costs, despite the importance of these two treatments for wastewater disinfection and reuse. This study is aimed at researchers in this field, helping them to identify recent trends, and at the main institutions in the scientific community working on this subject. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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14 pages, 12738 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Energy Utilization Efficiency of China Considering Carbon Emissions—Based on Provincial Panel Data

by Ge Huang, Wei Pan, Cheng Hu, Wu-Lin Pan and Wan-Qiang Dai

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 877; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13020877 - 16 Jan 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2118

Abstract

With the development of the economy, environmental pollution caused by energy consumption has become increasingly prominent. Improving the efficiency of energy utilization is an important way to solve this problem. Firstly, we used a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to calculate the energy utilization efficiency of China’s provinces and regions from the perspective of environmental constraints, including four inputs—labor force, capital stock, energy consumption and carbon emission—and one output, GDP. Secondly, an entity fixed effect model of panel data was built to investigate the influence of openness, urbanization, marketization and industrial structure on energy utilization efficiency in the process of economic structure change. The results indicate that China’s energy efficiency shows a trend of first stabilizing and then declining from 2007 to 2017. Meanwhile, the comprehensive energy efficiency of all provinces and regions is not very ideal. Only Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong constitute the forefront of China’s energy efficiency. The lack of pure technical efficiency in most provinces is the main reason for the low comprehensive efficiency, but there are also obvious differences among provinces and regions. In addition, urbanization, openness and industrial structure have a negative impact on energy efficiency, while marketization has a significant positive impact on energy efficiency. Finally, based on the regional differences, some suggestions were put forward to improve China’s energy utilization efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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33 pages, 2053 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cybersecurity Policy and the Legislative Context of the Water and Wastewater Sector in South Africa

by Masike Malatji, Annlizé L. Marnewick and Suné von Solms

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 291; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13010291 - 30 Dec 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4542

Abstract

The water and wastewater sector is an important lifeline upon which other economic sectors depend. Securing the sector’s critical infrastructure is therefore important for any country’s economy. Like many other nations, South Africa has an overarching national cybersecurity strategy aimed at addressing cyber terrorism, cybercriminal activities, cyber vandalism, and cyber sabotage. The aim of this study is to contextualise the water and wastewater sector’s cybersecurity responsibilities within the national cybersecurity legislative and policy environment. This is achieved by conducting a detailed analysis of the international, national and sector cybersecurity stakeholders; legislation and policies; and challenges pertaining to the protection of the water and wastewater sector. The study found some concerning challenges and improvement gaps regarding the complex manner in which the national government is implementing the cybersecurity strategy. The study also found that, along with the National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (the national cybersecurity strategy of South Africa), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, and other supporting legislation and policies make provision for the water and wastewater sector’s computer security incidents response team to be established without the need to propose any new laws or amend existing ones. This is conducive for the immediate development of the sector-specific cybersecurity governance framework and resilience strategy to protect the water and wastewater assets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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12 pages, 2499 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bio-Electrochemical Enhancement of Hydrogen and Methane Production in a Combined Anaerobic Digester (AD) and Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC) from Dairy Manure

by Amro Hassanein, Freddy Witarsa, Stephanie Lansing, Ling Qiu and Yong Liang

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8491; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12208491 - 14 Oct 2020

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4391

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological-based technology that generates methane-enriched biogas. A microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) uses electricity to initiate bacterial oxidization of organic matter to produce hydrogen. This study determined the effect of energy production and waste treatment when using dairy manure in a combined AD and MEC (AD-MEC) system compared to AD without MEC (AD-only). In the AD-MEC system, a single chamber MEC (150 mL) was placed inside a 10 L digester on day 20 of the digestion process and run for 272 h (11 days) to determine residual treatment and energy capacity with an MEC included. Cumulative H₂ and CH₄ production in the AD-MEC (2.43 L H₂ and 23.6 L CH₄) was higher than AD-only (0.00 L H₂ and 10.9 L CH₄). Hydrogen concentration during the first 24 h of MEC introduction constituted 20% of the produced biogas, after which time the H₂ decreased as the CH₄ concentration increased from 50% to 63%. The efficiency of electrical energy recovery (ηE) in the MEC was 73% (ηE min.) to 324% (ηE max.), with an average increase of 170% in total energy compared to AD-only. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was higher in the AD-MEC (7.09 kJ/g COD removed) system compared to AD-only (6.19 kJ/g COD removed). This study showed that adding an MEC during the digestion process could increase overall energy production and organic removal from dairy manure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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Review

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13 pages, 1860 KiB

Open AccessReview

Microalgal Production of Biofuels Integrated with Wastewater Treatment

by Merrylin Jayaseelan, Mohamed Usman, Adishkumar Somanathan, Sivashanmugam Palani, Gunasekaran Muniappan and Rajesh Banu Jeyakumar

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8797; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13168797 - 06 Aug 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3850

Abstract

Human civilization will need to reduce its impacts on air and water quality and reduce its use of fossil fuels in order to advance towards a more sustainable future. Using microalgae to treat wastewater as well as simultaneously produce biofuels is one of the approaches for a sustainable future. The manufacture of biofuels from microalgae is one of the next-generation biofuel solutions that has recently received a lot of interest, as it can remove nutrients from the wastewater whilst capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The resulting biomass are employed to generate biofuels, which can run fuel cell vehicles of zero emission, power combustion engines and power plants. By cultivating microalgae in wastewater, eutrophication can be prevented, thereby enhancing the quality of the effluent. Thus, by combining wastewater treatment and biofuel production, the cost of the biofuels, as well as the environmental hazards, can be minimized, as there is a supply of free and already available nutrients and water. In this article, the steps involved to generate the various biofuels through microalgae are detailed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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37 pages, 3586 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Developments in Microbial Electrolysis Cell-Based Biohydrogen Production Utilizing Wastewater as a Feedstock

by Pooja Dange, Soumya Pandit, Dipak Jadhav, Poojhaa Shanmugam, Piyush Kumar Gupta, Sanjay Kumar, Manu Kumar, Yung-Hun Yang and Shashi Kant Bhatia

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8796; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13168796 - 06 Aug 2021

Cited by 51 | Viewed by 6026

Abstract

Carbon constraints, as well as the growing hazard of greenhouse gas emissions, have accelerated research into all possible renewable energy and fuel sources. Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), a novel technology able to convert soluble organic matter into energy such as hydrogen gas, represent the most recent breakthrough. While research into energy recovery from wastewater using microbial electrolysis cells is fascinating and a carbon-neutral technology that is still mostly limited to lab-scale applications, much more work on improving the function of microbial electrolysis cells would be required to expand their use in many of these applications. The present limiting issues for effective scaling up of the manufacturing process include the high manufacturing costs of microbial electrolysis cells, their high internal resistance and methanogenesis, and membrane/cathode biofouling. This paper examines the evolution of microbial electrolysis cell technology in terms of hydrogen yield, operational aspects that impact total hydrogen output in optimization studies, and important information on the efficiency of the processes. Moreover, life-cycle assessment of MEC technology in comparison to other technologies has been discussed. According to the results, MEC is at technology readiness level (TRL) 5, which means that it is ready for industrial development, and, according to the techno-economics, it may be commercialized soon due to its carbon-neutral qualities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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23 pages, 10794 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Lattice Boltzmann Method in Modeling Biofilm Formation, Growth and Detachment

by Mojtaba Aghajani Delavar and Junye Wang

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7968; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13147968 - 16 Jul 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3039

Abstract

Biofilms are a complex and heterogeneous aggregation of multiple populations of microorganisms linked together by their excretion of extracellular polymer substances (EPS). Biofilms can cause many serious problems, such as chronic infections, food contamination and equipment corrosion, although they can be useful for constructive purposes, such as in wastewater treatment, heavy metal removal from hazardous waste sites, biofuel production, power generation through microbial fuel cells and microbially enhanced oil recovery; however, biofilm formation and growth are complex due to interactions among physicochemical and biological processes under operational and environmental conditions. Advanced numerical modeling techniques using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) are enabling the prediction of biofilm formation and growth and microbial community structures. This study is the first attempt to perform a general review on major contributions to LBM-based biofilm models, ranging from pioneering efforts to more recent progress. We present our understanding of the modeling of biofilm formation, growth and detachment using LBM-based models and present the fundamental aspects of various LBM-based biofilm models. We describe how the LBM couples with cellular automata (CA) and individual-based model (IbM) approaches and discuss their applications in assessing the spatiotemporal distribution of biofilms and their associated parameters and evaluating bioconversion efficiency. Finally, we discuss the main features and drawbacks of LBM-based biofilm models from ecological and biotechnological perspectives and identify current knowledge gaps and future research priorities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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24 pages, 1195 KiB

Open AccessReview

Renewable Energy Products through Bioremediation of Wastewater

by Ravi Kant Bhatia, Deepak Sakhuja, Shyam Mundhe and Abhishek Walia

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7501; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12187501 - 11 Sep 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 7208

Abstract

Due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, the population density of the world is intense in developing countries. This overgrowing population has resulted in the production of huge amounts of waste/refused water due to various anthropogenic activities. Household, municipal corporations (MC), urban local bodies (ULBs), and industries produce a huge amount of waste water, which is discharged into nearby water bodies and streams/rivers without proper treatment, resulting in water pollution. This mismanaged treatment of wastewater leads to various challenges like loss of energy to treat the wastewater and scarcity of fresh water, beside various water born infections. However, all these major issues can provide solutions to each other. Most of the wastewater generated by ULBs and industries is rich in various biopolymers like starch, lactose, glucose lignocellulose, protein, lipids, fats, and minerals, etc. These biopolymers can be converted into sustainable biofuels, i.e., ethanol, butanol, biodiesel, biogas, hydrogen, methane, biohythane, etc., through its bioremediation followed by dark fermentation (DF) and anaerobic digestion (AD). The key challenge is to plan strategies in such a way that they not only help in the treatment of wastewater, but also produce some valuable energy driven products from it. This review will deal with various strategies being used in the treatment of wastewater as well as for production of some valuable energy products from it to tackle the upcoming future demands and challenges of fresh water and energy crisis, along with sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wastewater Based Microbial Biorefinery for Bioenergy Production)

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