Biosensing capabilities of bioelectrochemical systems towards sustainable water streams: Technological implications and future prospects

• Published in: Journal of bioscience and bioengineering Vol. 129; no. 6; pp. 647 - 656
• Main Authors: Sevda, Surajbhan, Garlapati, Vijay Kumar, Naha, Sunandan, Sharma, Mohita, Ray, Sreemoyee Ghosh, Sreekrishnan, Trichur Ramaswamy, Goswami, Pranab
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Elsevier B.V 01-06-2020
• Subjects: Bioelectrochemical systems; Biosensor; Chemical oxygen demand; Environmental monitoring; Self-powered; Toxicity; Self-powered; Environmental monitoring; Bioelectrochemical systems; Chemical oxygen demand; Toxicity; Biosensor
• ISSN: 1389-1723; 1347-4421
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2020.01.003

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have been intensively investigated over the last decade owing to its wide-scale environmentally friendly applications, among which wastewater treatment, power generation and environmental monitoring for pollutants are prominent. Different variants of BES such as microbial fuel cell, microbial electrolysis cell, microbial desalination cell, enzymatic fuel cell, microbial solar cell, have been studied. These microbial bioelectrocatalytic systems have clear advantages over the existing analytical techniques for sustainable on-site application in wide environmental conditions with minimum human intervention, making the technology irrevocable and economically feasible. The key challenges to establish this technology are to achieve stable and efficient interaction between the electrode surface and microorganisms, reduction of time for start-up and toxic-shock recovery, sensitivity improvement in real-time conditions, device miniaturization and its long-term economically feasible commercial application. This review article summarizes the recent technical progress regarding bio-electrocatalytic processes and the implementation of BESs as a biosensor for determining various compositional characteristics of water and wastewater.
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•A sensitive and reliable biosensing capability of BES facilitates a more rapid detection in a short period.•Technical challenges embedded with the BES-based biosensing technology were summarized.•The prospects towards the miniaturization of BES for large-scale implementation showcased.