The race between classical microbial fuel cells, sediment-microbial fuel cells, plant-microbial fuel cells, and constructed wetlands-microbial fuel cells: Applications and technology readiness level

Gupta, Supriya; Patro, Ashmita; Mittal, Yamini; Dwivedi, S. K.; Saket, Palak; Panja, Rupobrata; Saeed, Tanveer; Martínez, Fernando; Yadav, Asheesh Kumar

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162757

Cited by 81 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 239 publications

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“…Most semi-submerged MFCs utilise rhizodeposits, but some patches of soil (fertilised by urine or animal manure) may have an even higher nutrient load, similar to that existing in an anaerobic digester or cesspit bioreactor. The cathode rests on top of the soil where it is exposed to air and oxygen, whilst the anode is positioned into the ground, deep within the soil ( Gupta et al, 2023 ).…”

Section: Soil-based Microbial Fuel Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy harvesting from plants using hybrid microbial fuel cells; potential applications and future exploitation

Greenman,

Thorn,

Willey

et al. 2024

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) can be fuelled using biomass derived from dead plant material and can operate on plant produced chemicals such as sugars, carbohydrates, polysaccharides and cellulose, as well as being “fed” on a regular diet of primary biomass from plants or algae. An even closer relationship can exist if algae (e.g., prokaryotic microalgae or eukaryotic and unicellular algae) can colonise the open to air cathode chambers of MFCs driving photosynthesis, producing a high redox gradient due to the oxygenic phase of collective algal cells. The hybrid system is symbiotic; the conditions within the cathodic chamber favour the growth of microalgae whilst the increased redox and production of oxygen by the algae, favour a more powerful cathode giving a higher maximum voltage and power to the photo-microbial fuel cell, which can ultimately be harvested for a range of end-user applications. MFCs can utilise a wide range of plant derived materials including detritus, plant composts, rhizodeposits, root exudates, dead or dying macro- or microalgae, via Soil-based Microbial Fuel Cells, Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells, Plant-based microbial fuel cells, floating artificial islands and constructed artificial wetlands. This review provides a perspective on this aspect of the technology as yet another attribute of the benevolent Bioelectrochemical Systems.

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Section: Soil-based Microbial Fuel Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy harvesting from plants using hybrid microbial fuel cells; potential applications and future exploitation

Greenman,

Thorn,

Willey

et al. 2024

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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“…Electrons obtained from biological reactions that are catalysed by bacteria can be used in Microbial Fuel Cells or MFCs to generate energy . The substrate for this energy production can be wastewater, sediments, or any organic waste rich media (Gupta et al, 2023). It is anticipated that the energy produced by MFCs can partially be utilized in powering low energy devices and can act as a remote energy source converting waste to bioelectricity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioelectricity production and bioremediation potential of Withania somnifera in plant microbial fuel cells with food wastes as enrichment

Bhattacharya

Bose

Ganti

et al. 2023

Preprint

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In plant microbial fuel cells or p-MFCs living plants photosynthesize between two electrodes. The plant exudes organic waste material from the roots. In the rhizosphere, bacteria consume these wastes by oxidizing them in contrast to the atmosphere that reduces it. This redox reaction along with photosynthesis can be harnessed as an energy source in the form of bioelectricity. In this work, the plant Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal was used for generating bioelectricity from the root exudates and organic matter available in the soil. An open circuit voltage of 930 ± 21 mV was achieved between multiple cycles of operation. The cell voltage further increased to 1260 ± 140 mV with enrichment in the form of discards from vegetable matter. The peak recorded voltage was 1400 mV. Graphite fibre felt electrodes ensured uniform microbial growth with power densities that were achieved at 57 mW/m2 and 84 mW/m2 with and without enrichment respectively. ATR-FTIR demonstrated complete degradation of specific compounds attached to the carbon matrix in the soil along with the polysaccharide content from the enrichments. Additionally, this work also monitored the changes in soil pH and its homogeneity, the impact of photosynthetically active radiation, humidity, and the presence of CO2 in the air, and how it affects plant growth and ultimately the microbes at the rhizosphere which accounted for the bioremediation and the resultant bioelectricity production. SEM imaging further confirmed the importance of anaerobic environment and electrode properties that allow the growth of conductive biofilms from the electrochemically active microbes present in the soil.

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“…The simultaneous treatment of wastewater during the electricity generation and the removal of metals such as chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc has gained additional importance regarding the environmental benefits (Nancharaiah et al, 2015;Hidayat et al, 2022). There are several review articles available very recently which include the focusing on functional materials (Zhu Q. et al, 2022), graphene-based materials (Aiswaria et al, 2022), carbonaceous materials (Dhilllon et al, 2022), nanomaterials (Chen et al, 2022b;Kamali et al, 2022;Dey et al, 2023;Kausar et al, 2023), anodic modification materials (Ma et al, 2023), and different types of MFCs (Gupta et al, 2023). Because the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics is one of the main obstacles, the review which draws attention to choosing the suitable cathode materials should be urgent for the practical applications of the MFC technology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outline of microbial fuel cells technology and their significant developments, challenges, and prospects of oxygen reduction electrocatalysts

Elangovan,

Saravanan,

Campos

et al. 2023

Front. Chem. Eng.

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The microbial fuel cells (MFCs) which demonstrates simultaneous production of electricity and wastewater treatment have been considered as one of the potential and greener energy production technology among the available bioelectrochemical systems. The air-cathode MFCs have gained additional benefits due to using air and avoiding any chemical substances as catholyte in the cathode chamber. The sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics at the cathode is one of the main obstacles to achieve high microbial fuel cell (MFC) performances. Platinum (Pt) is one of the most widely used efficient ORR electrocatalysts due to its high efficient and more stable in acidic media. Because of the high cost and easily poisoned nature of Pt, several attempts, such as a combination of Pt with other materials, and using non-precious metals and non-metals based electrocatalysts has been demonstrated. However, the efficient practical application of the MFC technology is not yet achieved mainly due to the slow ORR. Therefore, the review which draws attention to develop and choosing the suitable cathode materials should be urgent for the practical applications of the MFCs. In this review article, we present an overview of the present MFC technology, then some significant advancements of ORR electrocatalysts such as precious metals-based catalysts (very briefly), non-precious metals-based, non-metals and carbon-based, and biocatalysts with some significant remarks on the corresponding results for the MFC applications. Lastly, we also discussed the challenges and prospects of ORR electrocatalysts for the practical application of MFCs.

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The race between classical microbial fuel cells, sediment-microbial fuel cells, plant-microbial fuel cells, and constructed wetlands-microbial fuel cells: Applications and technology readiness level

Cited by 81 publications

References 239 publications

Energy harvesting from plants using hybrid microbial fuel cells; potential applications and future exploitation

Energy harvesting from plants using hybrid microbial fuel cells; potential applications and future exploitation

Bioelectricity production and bioremediation potential of Withania somnifera in plant microbial fuel cells with food wastes as enrichment

Outline of microbial fuel cells technology and their significant developments, challenges, and prospects of oxygen reduction electrocatalysts

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