Waste or Gold? Bioelectrochemical Resource Recovery in Source-Separated Urine

Abstract

In recent years, source-separated human urine has been highlighted as an effective resource for energy and nutrient recovery. However, even though several technologies exist for resource recovery, they have not been widely implemented. Among these technologies, bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) hold promise as technically and economically interesting alternatives for sustainable resource recovery from source-separated urine. Here, we review the resource recovery performance of BESs, including microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), fed with source-separated urine over the past decade, and suggest an effective path forward toward their widespread implementation.

Keywords: bioelectrochemical resource recovery; microbial electrolysis cells; microbial fuel cells; source-separated urine.