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Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) have progressed to be viable in certain industries, utilizing microorganisms to transform wastes into electrical energy, but face challenges such as biofouling and low energy output.

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Representative MFC — matched on the paper’s system type only, not its reactor or geometry.

Extraction

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What they did

System
MFC

What worked

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Abstract

The development of Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology has progressed greatly in the past few decades to the point where it can now be considered viable in certain industries. MFCs are cells that utilize microorganisms as catalysts to transform wastes into electrical energy, this new type of bioenergy can generate energy as well as decompose the wastes produced from industries and daily life. This article provides an overview of MFC’s properties, factors influencing the performance of MFCs, recent applications and prospects of MFCs, and the advantages and weaknesses of MFCs. Biofouling and waste debris from reaction inside the cell as well as not suitable pH value will cause significant degrade in performance of MFCs, at the same time, magnetic field and environmental temperature can help improve MFCs’ performance if utilized properly. Compared to other bioenergy technologies, MFCs do not need intensive heat and the cost of reaction materials is extremely low, nevertheless, the low energy output, relatively short life span, and high cost of materials building MFC itself are still barriers challenging MFCs to be widely adopted. Recently, MFCs are utilized in various areas, they are available for both electricity and hydrogen production, and they can deal with waste treatment or bioremediation at the same time. This paper aims at finding solutions to the existing problems of MFCs and exploring a wider range of areas that MFCs can be utilized.

Key findings

  • MFCs can generate energy and decompose industrial and daily life wastes
  • Factors influencing MFC performance include pH value, magnetic field, and environmental temperature
  • MFCs have low cost of reaction materials but high cost of materials building the cell itself

Keywords

Microbial fuel cellBioenergyBiochemical engineeringEnergy sourceElectricity generationRenewable energy

Identifiers

DOI
10.54097/hset.v50i.8482
Journal
Highlights in Science, Engineering and Technology
Year
2023