Emerging trends in microbial fuel cell diversification-Critical analysis.

Global need for transformation from fossil-based to bio-based economy is constantly emerging for the production of low-carbon/renewable energy/products. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) catalysed by bio-electrochemical process gained significant attention initially for its unique potential to generate energy. Diversification of MFC is an emerging trend in the context of prioritising/enhancing product output while exploring the mechanism specificity of individual processes. Bioelectrochemical treatment system (BET), microbial electrosynthesis system (MES), bioelectrochemical system (BES), electro-fermentation (EF), microbial desalination cell (MDC), microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) and electro-methanogenesis (EM) are the diversified MFC systems that are being researched actively. Owing to its broad diversification, MFC domain is increasing its potential credibility as a platform technology. Microbial catalyzed electrochemical reactions are the key which directly/indirectly are proportionally linked to electrometabolic activity of microorganisms towards final anticipated output. This review intends to holistically document the mechanisms, applications and current trends of MFC diversifications towards multi-faced applications.

Self-induced bioelectro-potential influence on sulfate removal and desalination in microbial fuel cell.

This study focused on treatment of sulfate-rich produced water (PW) using microbial fuel cell (MFC) with biotic anode (bAC) and abiotic cathode (aCC) separated by a cation exchange membrane (CEM). MFC was operated under varied circuitry modes - open circuit (OC-without resistance) and closed circuit (CC-applied resistance (1kΩ)) to evaluate and assess the removal of sulfates and salts with simultaneous carbon utilization. The OC and CC operations depicted sulfates removal efficiency of 38% and 56%, salinity removal of 12% and 21% and COD removal of 47% and 58%, respectively. Both OC and CC showed K+ decrement in bAC and increment in aCC with a comparatively higher efficiency of ionic mobility in CC operation. Maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) of 498 mV (OC) was observed with redox catalytic peak currents from cyclic voltammetry [Anode/cathode, 3.5/-4.9 mA (OC); 6.9/-7.9 mA (CC)]. Dominance of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria with specific enrichment of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) and halophiles was observed in bAC at the end of operation.

Spatial variation of electrode position in bioelectrochemical treatment system: Design consideration for azo dye remediation.

In the present study, three bio-electrochemical treatment systems (BET) were designed with variations in cathode electrode placement [air exposed (BET1), partially submerged (BET2) and fully submerged (BET3)] to evaluate azo-dye based wastewater treatment at three dye loading concentrations (50, 250 and 500 mg L-1). Highest dye decolorization (94.5 ±â€¯0.4%) and COD removal (62.2 ±â€¯0.8%) efficiencies were observed in BET3 (fully submerged electrodes) followed by BET1 and BET2, while bioelectrogenic activity was highest in BET1 followed by BET2 and BET3. It was observed that competition among electron acceptors (electrode, dye molecules and intermediates) critically regulated the fate of bio-electrogenesis to be higher in BET1 and dye removal higher in BET3. Maximum half-cell potentials in BET3 depict higher electron acceptance by electrodes utilized for dye degradation. Study infers that spatial positioning of electrodes in BET3 is more suitable towards dye remediation, which can be considered for scaling-up/designing a treatment plant for large-scale industrial applications.

Food waste biorefinery: Sustainable strategy for circular bioeconomy.

Enormous quantity of food waste (FW) is becoming a global concern. To address this persistent problem, sustainable interventions with green technologies are essential. FW can be used as potential feedstock in biological processes for the generation of various biobased products along with its remediation. Enabling bioprocesses like acidogenesis, fermentation, methanogenesis, solventogenesis, photosynthesis, oleaginous process, bio-electrogenesis, etc., that yields various products like biofuels, platform chemicals, bioelectricity, biomaterial, biofertilizers, animal feed, etc can be utilized for FW valorisation. Integrating these bioprocesses further enhances the process efficiency and resource recovery sustainably. Adapting biorefinery strategy with integrated approach can lead to the development of circular bioeconomy. The present review highlights the various enabling bioprocesses that can be employed for the generation of energy and various commodity chemicals in an integrated approach addressing sustainability. The waste biorefinery approach for FW needs optimization of the cascade of the individual bioprocesses for the transformation of linear economy to circular bioeconomy.

Phasic availability of terminal electron acceptor on oxygen reduction reaction in microbial fuel cell.

Oxygen-reduction reactions (ORR) plays a pivotal role in determining microbial fuel cells (MFC) performance. In this study, an attempt to determine the influence of the phasic availability of terminal electron acceptor (TEA) on ORR was made. Two MFCs operated with dissolved oxygen (MFC-DC) and air (MFC-SC) as TEA were constructed and analyzed in continuous mode under open and closed circuit conditions. The bio-electrochemical analysis showed a marked influence of dissolved oxygen resulting in a maximum power density with MFC-DC (769mW/m2) compared to MFC-SC (684mW/m2). The availability of O2 in dissolved phase has lowered the activation losses during the MFC operation as a result of effective ORR. The cyclic voltammetry analysis revealed the TEA dependent biocatalyst activity of NADH and cytochrome complex which enabled electron transfer kinetics and improved substrate utilization. Finally, the study evidenced the critical role of TEA phasic availability to regulate the bio-electrogenic and substrate degradation potential in MFC.

Multi-pollutant treatment of crystalline cellulosic effluent: Function of dissolved oxygen on process control.

Treatment of crystalline cellulose based wastewater was carried out in periodic discontinuous batch reactor (PDBR). Specific influence of dissolved oxygen on treatment of crystalline cellulosic (CC) wastewater was evaluated in three different microenvironments such as aerobic, anoxic and anaerobic. PDBR-aerobic biosystem documented relatively higher substrate degradation [2.63kgCOD/m(3)-day (92%)] in comparison to PDBR-anoxic [2.12kgCOD/m(3)-day (71%)] and PDBR-anaerobic [1.81kgCOD/m(3)-day (63%)], which is in accordance with the observed DO levels. Similarly, multipollutants viz., phosphates and nitrates removal was observed to be higher in aerobic followed by anoxic and anaerobic operations. Higher nitrate removal in aerobic operation might be attributed to the efficient denitrification carried out by the biocatalyst, which utilizes both nitrates and oxygen as oxidizing agents. Multiscan spectral profiles depicted reduction in color intensity in all three microenvironments that correlated with the substrate degradation observed. Despite the high organic load, PDBR functioned well without exhibiting process inhibition.