In situ bioelectrochemical remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater: A review

Contamination of the subsurface environment poses a serious hazard to the environment and human health. Recently, the bioelectrochemical system (BES) has drawn great attention in soil and groundwater remediation as it does not necessitate the addition of chemicals and exhibits minimal energy consumption to facilitate microbial degradation of pollutants. However, the complexity of the subsurface environment and the design parameters of the BES significantly affect the remediation performance and the current literature on BES primarily concentrates on its application in wastewater treatment, with a lack of summary of that in the subsurface environment. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to provide the current status, challenges, and outlooks of BES in situ treatment of pollutants from soil and groundwater. Firstly, the principles and efficacies of BES in treating the typical pollutants from the subsurface environment were discussed. Secondly, the factors that impact the BES treatment efficiencies, especially soil properties, the distinctive and pivotal factors for BES in situ application, were discussed specifically. Finally, the challenges and outlooks of BES for the in situ remediation of the contaminated soil and groundwater were addressed. BES is a green and sustainable in situ remediation technology and future advancements may necessitate the integration with complementary technologies and innovative system configurations to advance the practical implementation of BES.