Conventional Anaerobic Digestion vs. Bioelectrochemical Treatment Technologies for Waste Treatment

Abstract

A report published by the World Bank says that global waste will increase by an incredible 70% in 2050. In such a scenario, suitable remediation of toxic substances becomes essential. Currently, India can process only 20% of its total waste collected. Using conventional methods like physical, chemical, and biological processes we are yet unable to convert the entire biomass into a useful form of energy. The developing countries are facing an energy crisis, which can be overcome by converting the wastes into various energy forms. The waste collected can be segregated and based on content and can be treated by various methods like anaerobic digestion, acidogenic fermentation, bioplastic and biodiesel production, and microbial electrolysis (includes microbial fuel cells, microbial electrosynthesis, bioelectrochemical electrosynthesis, and bioelectrochemical treatment systems). The conventional anaerobic digestion process produces renewable energy sources in the form of biogas. Wastewater consists of many electrochemically active bacteria that oxidizes the organic substrate to produce free electrons via a cascade of redox reactions. The anaerobic digestion chamber can act as an anode, accumulating the free electrons and that is driven to the cathode to produce electricity. Thus, tons of waste can be converted to a useful electrical form of energy by bioelectrochemical treatment systems. In this chapter, we will mainly focus on the comparison of conventional anaerobic digestion versus bioelectrochemical treatments.