Microbial desalination cell for sustainable water treatment : a critical review

S. Aber, Z. Shi, K. Xing, R. Rameezdeen, C. W. K. Chow, Dharmappa Hagare, T. Jindal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In view of increasing threats arising from the shortage of fresh water, there is an urgent need to propose sustainable technologies for the exploitation of unconventional water sources. As a derivative of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), microbial desalination cell (MDC) has the potential of desalinating saline/brackish water while simultaneously generating electricity, as well as treating wastewater. Therefore, it is worth investigating its practicability as a potential sustainable desalination technology. This review article first introduces the fundamentals and annual trends of MDCs. The desalination of diverse types of solutions using MDCs along with their life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) and economic analysis is studied later. Finally, limitations and areas for improvement, prospects, and potential applications of this technology are discussed. Due to the great advantages of MDCs, improving their design, building materials, efficiency, and throughput will offer them as a significant alternative to the current desalination technologies.
Original languageEnglish
Article number2300138
Number of pages15
JournalGlobal Challenges
Volume7
Issue number10
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Global Challenges published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Open Access - Access Right Statement

© 2023 The Authors. Global Challenges published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Microbial desalination cell for sustainable water treatment : a critical review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this