Microbial‐Electro‐Fenton Treatment of Dye Wastewater: A Concise Review
ABSTRACT Textile wastewater is a major global concern due to its hazardous, persistent nature, primarily from synthetic dyes. This review represents the Microbial‐Electro‐Fenton Technology (MEFT) as a promising integrated and sustainable approach that addresses key limitations of conventional treatments by coupling microbial fuel cell mechanisms with electrochemical Fenton processes. In MEFT, microbes oxidize organic waste to generate bioelectricity, powering the in situ production of H 2 O 2 . The produced H 2 O 2 subsequently generates highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (•OH) through the Fenton reaction, which effectively degrades a broad spectrum of dyes and pigments into simple organic compounds. MEFT offers substantial economic and environmental benefits, including significantly reduced energy consumption, minimal external chemical inputs and compatibility with circular economy principles through resource recovery. However, several challenges restrict the technology from achieving notable scalability and long‐term operational stability. Future research should prioritize these aspects to advance MEFT from the laboratory to a practical and commercially viable technology.
Authors
- Aakif Anjum
- Dilawar Husain (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7911-032X)
- Imran Ahmad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5164-6686)
Institutions
- King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (SA)
- University of Mindanao (PH)
- Maharishi University of Management and Technology (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Water and Environment Journal
- Published
- 2026-07-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/wej.70081
- Primary Topic
- Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00