Converting Low-grade Biomass to Produce Energy Using Bio-fuel Cells

Meng, Tong; Du, Zhenmin; Gu, Tingyue

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-33497-9_4

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…The maximum MFC power density has increased by several orders of magnitude through intensive research in recently years. However, it is still 1,000 times below the 10 3 to 10 4 W/m 2 (anode surface area) power density achieved by chemical fuel cells [12]. Realistically, we should not compare MFCs with chemical fuel cells in power density output because MFCs are not powered by high energy-density fuels such as pure hydrogen or ethanol.…”

Section: Bottlenecks In Mfcs and Possible Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 94%

The Next Breakthrough in Microbial Fuel Cells and Microbial Electrolysis Cells for Bioenergy and Bioproducts

Zhou

Gu²

2013

J Microbial Biochem Technol

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Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) have demonstrated their capabilities under laboratory conditions to treat various types of wastewater with concomitant bioelectricity production. They can also be operated as Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs) with an external voltage to produce some bioproducts such as methane and hydrogen. Tremendous advances have been made in recent years in reactor configuration, electrode design, membrane design and multiunit stacking. However, the MFC and MEC technologies are still far from ready for real-world applications beyond powering small sensor devices. This work discusses bioelectrochemistry principles and various bottlenecks in MFC operations. It points out that the next breakthrough may come from the use of engineered biofilms with superior performance characteristics that greatly improve electron transfer and appetite for various organic matters in wastewater streams.

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