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The tri-functional purpose of Microbial Desalination Cell (MDC) has shown a great promise in our current scarcity of water, an increase in water pollution and the high cost of electricity production. As a biological system, the baseline force that drives its performance is the presence of exoelectrogens in the anode chamber. Their presence in the anodic chamber of MDC systems enables the treatment of water, desalination of seawater, and the production of electrical energy. This study reviews the characteristics of exoelectrogens, as a driving force in MDC and examines factors which influence their growth and the performance efficiency of MDC systems. It also addresses the efficiency of mixed cultures with certain predominant species as compared to pure cultures used in MDC systems. Furthermore, the study suggests the need to genetically modify certain predominant strains in mixed cultures to enhance their performance in COD removal, desalination and power output and the integration of MDC with other technologies for cost-effective processes.

a b s t r a c tThe concept microbial desalination cells (MDC) evolved from microbial fuel cells (MFC) technology. MDCs have been used in a wide range of applications since its introduction in 2009 including various configuration introduced by different researchers to solve some challenges in the operation of the reactor. Some of these applications include; seawater desalination, brackish water desalination, water softening, hydrogen and chemical production and groundwater remediation. Performance and efficiency of this technology is influenced by many factors just as any other technology, this review enlightens the varying impact of reactor configuration, pH imbalance/fluctuation, operational conditions, microbial conditions, substrate, materials and dimensions, electrode materials, resistance, hydraulic retention time (HRT) and conductivity on the performance of the MDC rector in terms of electricity production, desalination and wastewater treatment (COD removal). The study also identifies and demonstrates the factors other studies have compared over the years till date classified under technical topics, theoretically showing their significance to enhance the improvement of MDC for future extension of its application. The study as well shows the relationship between the individual factors along with how these factors contribute to the performance and efficiency of the MDC reactor, its processing (operation) and the way forward.