Biological and Microbial Fuel Cells

doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-087872-0.00412-1

Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Comprehensive Renewable Energy

Volume 4, 2012, Pages 277-300

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-087872-0.00412-1 Get rights and content

Abstract

Biological fuel cells have attracted increasing interest in recent years because of their applications in environmental treatment, energy recovery, and small-scale power sources. Biological fuel cells are capable of producing electricity in the same way as a chemical fuel cell: there is a constant supply of fuel into the anode and a constant supply of oxidant into the cathode; however, typically the fuel is a hydrocarbon compound present in the wastewater, for example. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are also a promising technology for efficient wastewater treatment and generating energy as direct electricity for onsite remote application. MFCs are obtained when catalyst layer used into classical fuel cells (polymer electrolyte fuel cell) is replaced with electrogenic bacteria. A particular case of biological fuel cell is represented by enzyme-based fuel cells, when the catalyst layer is obtained by immobilization of enzyme on the electrode surface. These cells are of particular interest in biomedical research and health care and in environmental monitoring and are used as the power source for portable electronic devices. The technology developed for fabrication of enzyme electrodes is described. Different enzyme immobilization methods using layered structures with self-assembled monolayers and entrapment of enzymes in polymer matrixes are reviewed. The performances of enzymatic biofuel cells are summarized and approaches on further development to overcome current challenges are discussed. This innovative technology will have a major impact and benefit to medical science and clinical research, health care management, and energy production from renewable sources.

Applications and advantages of using MFCs for wastewater treatment are described, including organic matter removal efficiency and electricity generation. Factors affecting the performance of MFC are summarized and further development needs are accentuated.

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Cited by (32)

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Biofuel cells involving enzymes and whole cells of microorganisms are gaining interest with the increasing need for self-powered devices. Their nontoxic, pollution-free energy conversion technology has received tremendous attention in the last two decades, evidenced by the existing literature on this field. There are also various reviews explaining the developments of microbial fuel cells. Biofuel cells can convert a wide range of substrates from sustainable sources to electrical power and could have a promising prospect of contributing to future energy requirements. However, this technology needs steady exploration to lead it toward technology readiness. In this chapter, we focus on the recent developments in the area of biofuel cells with respect to enzymatic and microbial fuel cells, along with their future aspects leading to develop a promising technology for mankind.
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Fuel cells are devices that convert chemical energy of a fuel into electrical energy. Biofuel cells use whole organism or enzyme, as catalysts (in at least one of their electrodes). Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) employ whole living microbial cell or microbial components for energy generation. Generally, whole living microbial cells are used for MFCs. Microbial cells are of particular interest for generating electric energy in nontraditional approach for environment conservation as well as for use of waste resources. MFCs can be important in various applications as alternate source of energy. In majority of reports on MFCs, mesophilic microbes have been studied for power. Currently, researchers are working on development of efficient MFCs based on thermophilic microorganisms. Thermophilic microbes have high rate of biochemical reactions and high rate of electron production which may be beneficial for their applications in MFCs operational at higher temperature. In this chapter, the concept of biofuel cell and developmental aspects of thermophilic MFCs have been presented for sustainable energy production in environment-friendly approach.

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Keith Scott has been Professor of Electrochemical Engineering at Newcastle University since 1994. He has a BSc and PhD in Chemical Engineering. His research interests encompass the areas of electrochemical systems and engineering, reaction engineering, catalytic reactors, and membrane separation processes. He is currently managing research programs funded by EPSRC, EU, Carbon Trust, Industry, and DSTL in energy and fuel cell fields. Keith Scott’s professional duties are many and varied including being a PhD examiner and student supervisor to many universities. He has published 300+ refereed publications, 150+ conference presentations, and nine books.

Dr Eileen Yu is a Lecturer in the School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials at Newcastle University. Her PhD study worked on the development of direct methanol alkaline fuel cells, which was one of the first studies in the area. After her PhD, she worked as a Research Fellow at Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Germany, before returning to Newcastle to take a prestigious EPSRC Research Fellowship (Life Science Interface) in 2006. Dr Yu’s current research focuses on novel bioelectronics including biosensors, enzymatic biofuel cells, and microbial fuel cells. She is involved in the EPSRC Supergen Biological fuel cell consortium. She is also involved in the research on alkaline polymer membrane fuel cells.

M.M. Ghangrekar is a Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. He is involved in teaching Environmental Engineering subject to undergraduate and graduate students of IIT Kharagpur. His research is focussed on anaerobic treatment of municipal and industrial wastewaters for methane recovery, modeling of biological processes, electricity generation from wastewaters using MFC, and treatment technology for reuse of wastewaters. He has published 43 papers relating to his research theme in various journals and presented 57 research papers to conferences. He is a recipient of best paper awards by the Institute of Engineers India for three of his papers published in the journal. He has guided four PhD and presently guiding five research scholars for PhD.

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4.11 - Biological and Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract