| Abstract | Water scarcity is a global issue affecting about 2.3 billion people, driving demand for sustainable desalination technologies [1] . Conventional methods like Reverse Osmosis (RO) are energy-intensive and produce brine contributing to environmental degradation [1,2]. Microbial Desalination Cells (MDCs) present a promising solution by harnessing exoelectrogenic bacteria to desalinate water through ion migration. However, their scalability remains constrained by low desalination efficiency [3, 4]. To address these barriers, we are investigating a hybrid cyanobacteria-integrated MDC (CI-MDC) system that synergises bioelectrochemical desalination with phototrophic salt bioaccumulation. Halophilic cyanobacterial strains, selected for their hypersaline adaptability and ion sequestration abilities, are cultivated within a photobioreactor-augmented desalination chamber under controlled salinity gradients and optimised light regimes. This configuration aims to enhance ion migration through dual pathways: (a) electrochemical ion transport driven by exoelectrogens and (b) biological uptake via cyanobacterial ion channels. This work aims to establish a proof-of-concept by coupling bioelectrochemical desalination with phototrophic salt bioaccumulation. The research aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). References [1] A. M. Michalak et al., ‘The frontiers of water and sanitation’, Nat Water, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 10–18, Jan. 2023, doi: 10.1038/s44221-022-00020-1. [2] W. Rosińska, J. Jurasz, K. Przestrzelska, K. Wartalska, and B. Kaźmierczak, ‘Climate change’s ripple effect on water supply systems and the water-energy nexus – A review’, Water Resources and Industry, vol. 32, p. 100266, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.wri.2024.100266. [3] K. Saini et al., ‘Microbial Desalination Cell (MDC): A Next-Generation Environmental Technology for Wastewater Treatment and Bioelectricity Generation’, in Microbiology-2.0 Update for a Sustainable Future, J. Gupta and A. Verma, Eds., Singapore: Springer Nature, 2024, pp. 395–425. doi: 10.1007/978-981-99-9617-9_18. [4] H. Li, S. Tong, H. Wang, and Y. Wang, ‘Systematic Investigation of Microbial Desalination Cells (MDC) Performance under the Impact of Cation Migration Behaviour and Multi-cation Interactions in Industrial Wastewater’, Electrochemistry, vol. 91, no. 5, pp. 057007–057007, 2023, doi: 10.5796/electrochemistry.23-00018. |
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