Electro-anaerobic digestion as carbon–neutral solutions
Abstract Electro-anaerobic digestion (EAD) is a promising biowaste treatment technology that integrates a low electric field with conventional anaerobic digestion to enhance biogas yield. Particularly, EAD improves efficiency in CH4 production through enhanced microbial activity and direct electron...
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SpringerOpen
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40538-025-00776-0 |
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| author | Suraj Negi Jyi-Yong Chai Audrey Clara Tanesha Tjhin Shu-Yuan Pan |
| author_facet | Suraj Negi Jyi-Yong Chai Audrey Clara Tanesha Tjhin Shu-Yuan Pan |
| author_sort | Suraj Negi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Electro-anaerobic digestion (EAD) is a promising biowaste treatment technology that integrates a low electric field with conventional anaerobic digestion to enhance biogas yield. Particularly, EAD improves efficiency in CH4 production through enhanced microbial activity and direct electron transfer. This study first illustrates the principles and mechanisms of EAD, and compares with other microbial electrochemical technologies, such as microbial electrolysis, microbial electrosynthesis, and electromethanogenesis. Then, we explore the microbial interactions crucial to biogas production, emphasizing the roles of key bacteria and archaea for CH4 generation in EAD. This study also discusses engineering design considerations for EAD, including applied voltage, temperature, electrode material, electrode spacing, pH control, mixing, and reaction kinetics. The statistical analysis results indicate an average applied voltage of 0.71 V (95% CI 0.48–0.94, n = 19, p < 0.05) and an average CH4 yield of 304.7 mL-CH4 per g-COD (95% CI 252.61–356.73, n = 14, p < 0.05) for EAD operations reported in the literature. Life cycle assessments and techno-economic evaluations reveal that while EAD has higher capital and operational costs than conventional anaerobic digestion, its increased efficiency in CH4 production can offset these costs, resulting in significant long-term economic and environmental benefits. Lastly, this study proposes several priority research directions for EAD, including advancing electron transfer and microbial interactions for system optimization, scaling-up to bridge laboratory success to industrial application, and pioneering carbon–neutral solutions that supports a bio-circular-green economy. Graphical Abstract |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1e408dda009d44d9a9289d4e8d0feec6 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2196-5641 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
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| series | Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e408dda009d44d9a9289d4e8d0feec62025-08-20T01:52:22ZengSpringerOpenChemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture2196-56412025-05-0112112310.1186/s40538-025-00776-0Electro-anaerobic digestion as carbon–neutral solutionsSuraj Negi0Jyi-Yong Chai1Audrey Clara Tanesha Tjhin2Shu-Yuan Pan3Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan UniversityDepartment of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan UniversityDepartment of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan UniversityDepartment of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan UniversityAbstract Electro-anaerobic digestion (EAD) is a promising biowaste treatment technology that integrates a low electric field with conventional anaerobic digestion to enhance biogas yield. Particularly, EAD improves efficiency in CH4 production through enhanced microbial activity and direct electron transfer. This study first illustrates the principles and mechanisms of EAD, and compares with other microbial electrochemical technologies, such as microbial electrolysis, microbial electrosynthesis, and electromethanogenesis. Then, we explore the microbial interactions crucial to biogas production, emphasizing the roles of key bacteria and archaea for CH4 generation in EAD. This study also discusses engineering design considerations for EAD, including applied voltage, temperature, electrode material, electrode spacing, pH control, mixing, and reaction kinetics. The statistical analysis results indicate an average applied voltage of 0.71 V (95% CI 0.48–0.94, n = 19, p < 0.05) and an average CH4 yield of 304.7 mL-CH4 per g-COD (95% CI 252.61–356.73, n = 14, p < 0.05) for EAD operations reported in the literature. Life cycle assessments and techno-economic evaluations reveal that while EAD has higher capital and operational costs than conventional anaerobic digestion, its increased efficiency in CH4 production can offset these costs, resulting in significant long-term economic and environmental benefits. Lastly, this study proposes several priority research directions for EAD, including advancing electron transfer and microbial interactions for system optimization, scaling-up to bridge laboratory success to industrial application, and pioneering carbon–neutral solutions that supports a bio-circular-green economy. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40538-025-00776-0Bioelectrochemical tesystemsMethanogenesisElectro-fermentationElectric field-assisted digestionExtracellular electron transfer |
| spellingShingle | Suraj Negi Jyi-Yong Chai Audrey Clara Tanesha Tjhin Shu-Yuan Pan Electro-anaerobic digestion as carbon–neutral solutions Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture Bioelectrochemical tesystems Methanogenesis Electro-fermentation Electric field-assisted digestion Extracellular electron transfer |
| title | Electro-anaerobic digestion as carbon–neutral solutions |
| title_full | Electro-anaerobic digestion as carbon–neutral solutions |
| title_fullStr | Electro-anaerobic digestion as carbon–neutral solutions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electro-anaerobic digestion as carbon–neutral solutions |
| title_short | Electro-anaerobic digestion as carbon–neutral solutions |
| title_sort | electro anaerobic digestion as carbon neutral solutions |
| topic | Bioelectrochemical tesystems Methanogenesis Electro-fermentation Electric field-assisted digestion Extracellular electron transfer |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40538-025-00776-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT surajnegi electroanaerobicdigestionascarbonneutralsolutions AT jyiyongchai electroanaerobicdigestionascarbonneutralsolutions AT audreyclarataneshatjhin electroanaerobicdigestionascarbonneutralsolutions AT shuyuanpan electroanaerobicdigestionascarbonneutralsolutions |