CO2 Sequestration and Wastewater Remediation Using Bioelectrochemical Systems (MEC/MES)

Anthropogenic CO₂ emissions and the escalating burden of organic wastewater represent two of the most pressing environmental challenges of the 21st century. Conventional treatment and carbon capture technologies, while widely deployed, are energy-intensive and often fail to recover embedded value from waste streams. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have emerged as a promising class of technologies that couple microbial metabolism with electrochemical processes to simultaneously address both challenges. Microbial electrolysis cells (MEC) exploit electro-active microorganisms to drive hydrogen evolution from organic substrates, while microbial electrosynthesis (MES) enables the electro-driven reduction of CO₂ into valuable multicarbon products such as acetate, butyrate, and methane. Together, these platforms offer a sustainable route toward carbon-negative energy production and resource recovery from wastewater.Despite significant laboratory-scale advances, the practical deployment of MEC and MES technologies remains constrained by several critical bottlenecks: limited electron transfer efficiency at the biocathode interface, insufficient understanding of electro-active microbial community dynamics, and the absence of scalable reactor configurations with demonstrated techno-economic viability. This Research Topic aims to consolidate and advance the current state of knowledge on BES-based CO₂ sequestration and wastewater remediation by bringing together original research, review articles, and perspective pieces from leading groups worldwide. We seek contributions that address fundamental mechanistic questions as well as applied engineering challenges, with emphasis on bridging the gap between bench-scale proof-of-concept and pilot-scale implementation. Recent advances in electrode material design, synthetic biology-guided microbial engineering, and integrated BES-renewable energy systems are of particular interest. Ultimately, this collection aspires to chart a clear research agenda for achieving carbon-neutral or carbon-negative wastewater treatment through bioelectrochemical innovation.This Research Topic welcomes contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes: • electrode and membrane material development for enhanced MEC/MES performance; • microbial community characterization and engineering in electrosynthetic systems; • CO₂ reduction pathways and product selectivity in MES; • hydrogen production efficiency and purity in MEC; • coupling of BES with renewable energy sources; • scale-up strategies and reactor engineering; • life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis of BES-based processes; • integrated systems combining BES with anaerobic digestion, constructed wetlands, or photobioelectrochemical platforms. We welcome original research articles, systematic reviews, mini-reviews, and perspective/opinion pieces. Studies spanning fundamental microbiology, materials science, electrochemistry, and environmental engineering are equally encouraged. Interdisciplinary contributions that connect BES performance to real-world wastewater composition and CO₂ capture targets are especially solicited. To authors interested in submitting a review manuscript, these are required to submit a 1–2 page synopsis/summary for editor review and approval prior to full submission. Topic editors: MINSOO KIM, Shuwei Li, Spyros Foteinis Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83185/co2-sequestration-and-wastewater-remediation-using-bioelectrochemical-systems-mecmes