Role of the Microbial Community in Energy Recovery via Wastewater Treatment

Water contamination is one of the major global concerns, ranging from municipal sewage wastewater (WW) loaded with pharmaceuticals, detergents and various personal care items to industrially originated effluents, which are rich in heavy metals and chemicals. Innovative WW treatment methods are desperately required, as evidenced by the numerous contaminants that pollute water sources. Towards this end, enormous advancements have been made in developing effective and efficient WW treatment strategies in the last few decades. This chapter delves into the critical role of the microbial community, including bacteria, fungi or algae in isolation, in consortia, or in association with nano-cellulose-like materials, in sophisticated WW treatment approaches. This study emphasizes the biological WW treatment methods that facilitate the elimination of contaminants along with energy generation. Despite various challenges such as high energy consumption and different WW compositions, ongoing research focuses on optimizing the discussed approaches for sustainable WW management and energy production.