ReviewResource recovery from used water: The manufacturing abilities of hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria

- Mini-review of hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria and their potential applications.
- The feasibility of microbial protein and biopolymers production is analysed.
- Nitrogen removal and recovery from wastewater is discussed.
- A H2-based biorefinery for nutrients upgrade and CO2 capture is proposed.

Resources in used water are at present mainly destroyed rather than reused. Recovered nutrients can serve as raw material for the sustainable production of high value bio-products. The concept of using hydrogen and oxygen, produced by green or off-peak energy by electrolysis, as well as the unique capability of autotrophic hydrogen oxidizing bacteria to upgrade nitrogen and minerals into valuable microbial biomass, is proposed. Both axenic and mixed microbial cultures can thus be of value to implement re-synthesis of recovered nutrients in biomolecules. This process can become a major line in the sustainable “water factory” of the future.

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