Ai-Jie Wang - Bioelectrochemistry Stimulated Environmental Remediation

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No doubt, there is an urgent need for advanced treatment of recalcitrant environmental chemicals. The general public gets every day more concerned, and even nervous, about various types of so-called micro-pollutants . Actually, chemical pollutants in the effluents of used water treatment plants are often still a factor 10100 times above the Predicted No Effect Level (Margot et al., WIREs Water 2015, 2:457487). Several micropollutants remain unchanged even after long-term bank filtration (Hamann et al., Sci. Total Environ. 2016, 545:629640). To preserve the quality of life of the next generations, we need to come to new developments which open perspectives to bring forward strongly enhanced environmental remediation. We should not be at ease about this.

Scientific curiosity has, about two decades ago, re-launched the generic interest in bioelectrochemistry (Park and Zeikus, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2000, 66:12921297). The developments have ever since been startling and exponential in terms of perspectives and potential applications. Not only the insights in basic microbiology but also the progress in various aspects of technology have allowed to think forward with respect to new types of treatments of various environmental pollutants. Time has come to implement the excellent scientific progress into valuable applications which will demonstrate to the general public the significance of basic and applied research, particularly in this interphase where biology and electrochemistry meet in a most intriguing way.

This book is in many respects remarkable. It brings together in a comprehensive way the various advances of bioelectrochemistry in relation to environmental technology. It covers not only various aspects of microbial insights on physiology and ecology, but bridges these with the engineering and the implementation of various types of reactor systems. It addresses issues concerning a variety of contaminants. Moreover, it covers a whole set of matrices ranging from clean to polluted and from liquid and solid environments, such as drinking and wastewaters, industrial wastes, sediments, and soils. Search and you will find your topic of interest.

Most importantly, this book has the ambition to generate further scientific and technologiccal endeavor; it stimulates to think break new grounds. The demands for better environmental quality are of such nature and such priority that all of us should embark on renewed fresh thinking about what potentials this dynamic field will reveal in the future. We should dare to hope that this is the beginning of the combination of a variety of new developments in microbial, electrotechnical, and environmental upgrading.