Removal of heavy metals using bioelectrochemical systems

Abstract Heavy metal–contaminated wastewaters and effluents pose serious health and environmental concerns but are also considered as secondary sources of critical and scarce metals. It is therefore highly desirable to remove and recover heavy metals from contaminated waste streams. Several technologies have been proposed to clean up heavy metal–contaminated environments. However, most of the used technologies are generally energy or chemical intensive, costly and do not allow recovery of target metals. Development of cost-effective and sustainable approaches for the removal and recovery of heavy metals is therefore widely researched. In this context the bioelectrochemical approach, which is based on the integration of microbiology with electrochemistry, is emerging as a potential technology for the efficient removal or recovery of various metals. It offers a flexible platform based on the oxidation and reduction reactions of different heavy metals at the electrodes. This chapter covers different aspects associated with the use of microbial (bio)electrochemical systems for the removal and recovery of various metals.