Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
18.9 The Conclusion and Perspective
Substantial efforts have been devoted to the development and improvement of
MFC technology to reduce its operating cost, and to increase power output
although MFC technology has not been widely scaled up for commercial appli-
cation. MFC technology covers many distinct scientific disciplines, including
material sciences, microbial ecology, and engineering design. Previous studies
have proposed innovative designs of MFC reactors to improve the performance
together with reduced capital costs. It has been demonstrated that different elec-
trode materials exhibited different behaviors and electrode modification offers a
good and effective approach for enhancing the performance. Development of the
electrode with excellent proprieties and the reasonable price could be crucial for
the practical application. Furthermore, appropriate integration or combination of
MFCs with present wastewater treatment technologies should
be taken into
consideration.
MFCs provide us with a model system to study the different microbial popu-
lations present in the exoelectrogenic biofilms, and it would be an important
research area in understanding how the microbial ecology of electricity producing
communities develops and shifts over time. Extensive studies on exoelectrogenic
bacteria and consortia begin to expose the mechanistic and ecological complexities
of MFC biofilm communities. Yet, our understanding of electrochemically active
microbes is still in its infancy, as the diverse communities have a multitude of
undiscovered electrochemical capabilities that can be exploited in different MFC
applications. Discovery of the potential exoelectrogenic bacteria is important in
understanding the function of anodic microbial communities and to improve the
electron transfer efficiency of MFCs.
References
Aelterman P, Rabaey K, Pham HT, Boon N, Verstraete W (2006) Continuous electricity
generation at high voltages and currents using stacked microbial fuel cells. Environ Sci
Technol 40(10):3388-3394
Allen RM, Bennetto HP (1993) Microbial fuel-cells: electricity production from carbohydrates.
Appl Biochem Biotechnol 39(1):27-40
Aller RC (1994) The sedimentary Mn cycle in long island sound: its role as intermediate oxidant
and the influence of bioturbation, O 2 , and Corg flux on diagenetic reaction balances. J Mar
Res 52(2):259-295
Bennetto H, Delaney G, Mason J, Roller S, Stirling J, Thurston C (1985) The sucrose fuel cell:
efficient biomass conversion using a microbial catalyst. Biotechnol Lett 7(10):699-704
Biffinger J, Ribbens M, Ringeisen B, Pietron J, Finkel S, Nealson K (2009) Characterization of
electrochemically active bacteria utilizing a high-throughput voltage-based screening assay.
Biotechnol Bioeng 102(2):436-444
Bond DR, Holmes DE, Tender LM, Lovley DR (2002) Electrode-reducing microorganisms that
harvest energy from marine sediments. Science 295(5554):483-485
Search WWH ::




Custom Search