Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Facultad de Ingeniería, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, Chile.
Marine Energy Research & Innovation Center (MERIC), Santiago 7550268, Chile.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Feb 19;19(4):2411. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042411.
For many years, the world's coastal marine ecosystems have received industrial waste with high nitrogen concentrations, generating the eutrophication of these ecosystems. Different physicochemical-biological technologies have been developed to remove the nitrogen present in wastewater. However, conventional technologies have high operating costs and excessive production of brines or sludge which compromise the sustainability of the treatment. Microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) have begun to gain attention due to their cost-efficiency in removing nitrogen and organic matter using the metabolic capacity of microorganisms. This article combines a critical review of the environmental problems associated with the discharge of the excess nitrogen and the biological processes involved in its biogeochemical cycle; with a comparative analysis of conventional treatment technologies and METs especially designed for nitrogen removal. Finally, current METs limitations and perspectives as a sustainable nitrogen treatment alternative and efficient microbial enrichment techniques are included.
多年来，世界沿海海洋生态系统一直接收高浓度氮的工业废物，导致这些生态系统出现富营养化。已经开发出不同的物理化学-生物技术来去除废水中的氮。然而，传统技术的运行成本高，并且会产生过多的盐水或污泥，从而影响处理的可持续性。微生物电化学技术（METs）由于其利用微生物的代谢能力去除氮和有机物的成本效益，已开始受到关注。本文结合了对过量氮排放引起的环境问题以及氮的生物地球化学循环所涉及的生物过程的批判性回顾；对专门用于去除氮的传统处理技术和 METs 进行了比较分析。最后，还包括了 METs 作为一种可持续的氮处理替代方法和有效的微生物富集技术的当前局限性和前景。
