Microbial Fuel Cells for Bio-electricity Generation from Organic Waste (Opportunities and Challenges)
2024
Hannaneh Turk-Zadeh Mahani | Saeedeh Morad-Alizadeh | Mahdi Rezaei
Background: With the industrialization of societies, the use of fossil fuels has increased. To address the issues arising from this, the "waste-to-energy" approach using a type of fuel production process known as microbial fuel cells can be utilized. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe and investigate the use of microbial fuel cells for the production of bioelectricity from organic waste. Materials and Methods: In the initial search for articles, a total of 214 articles from 2009 to 2024 were found. After removing duplicates, 101 articles remained. At the end of the screening stage, 62 articles remained. To access relevant articles, the full texts were reviewed, and finally, 29 articles were used in the present study. Results: In microbial fuel cells, waste is considered as organic substrates, and microorganisms oxidize them to ultimately produce electrical energy without generating toxic by-products. Acetate is commonly used as an organic substrate due to its higher output power in fuel cells. For evaluating the performance of the fuel cells, electrodes are crucial as their material affects electron transfer and chemical efficiency. Conclusion: Despite the advantages of microbial fuel cell technology in waste management and reducing air pollution, it faces challenges such as relatively high investment costs and low efficiency when applied on a large scale, which has delayed its commercialization. However, it is necessary to examine and control the factors reducing the efficiency of this technology on the large scale to expand its application scope and justify the high investment cost.
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