Bioelectrochemical Systems for the Valorization of Organic Residues

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) that can be involved in the valorization of organic residues use microorganisms able to exchange electrons with an electrode. In the case of microbial fuel cells (MFC), microbial oxidation of organic substrates at the anode generates energy as electric current. In a microbial electrolysis cell, electric energy is provided so that electrons generated by microbial oxidation of organic matter at the anode allow hydrogen production at the cathode. Electrodes can also be used to control fermentation reactions in the electro-fermentation process. Other applications include the production of methane or organic molecules by microbiological carbon dioxide reduction at the cathode, i.e. microbial electrosynthesis. It is also possible to use these BES to recover nutrient from specific effluents.