Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.4
4.1
Journals
Microorganisms
Special Issues
Microbial Fuel Cell and Microbial Electrolysis Cell
share announcement

Microbial Fuel Cell and Microbial Electrolysis Cell

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 10897

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rivka Cahan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel
Interests: bacterial anode; microbial fuel cell; microbial electrolysis cell; cathode
Dr. Bharath Gandu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental studies,University of Delhi, New Delhi 110007, India
Interests: microbial fuel cell; microbial electrolysis cell; biogas; biofilter

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have been extensively investigated over the past decade due to their great potential in wastewater treatment and energy recovery applications. BESs can be broadly classified either as a microbial fuel cell (MFC) or a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC). The performance of a BES strongly relies on the activity and efficacy of the bacterial anode, which is considered the limiting element. The major parameters influencing the bacterial anode activity are the electrode material and the exoelectrogenic biofilm on the anode.

The catalyst of the cathode is mostly platinum, however, this presents some disadvantages, including high cost and high sensitivity to poisoning by adsorption of various organic and inorganic molecules. Thus, one of the most challenging processes in BES technology is finding an active, low-cost catalyst that can replace platinum. This Special Issue of Microorganisms aims to present the latest research regarding MEC/MFC bacterial anodes, cathode catalysts, and cell configuration. Reviews, original research, and communications are all welcome. 

Dr. Rivka Cahan
Dr. Bharath Gandu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

21 pages, 3632 KiB  
Article
Application of Magnetite-Nanoparticles and Microbial Fuel Cell on Anaerobic Digestion: Influence of External Resistance
by Nhlanganiso Ivan Madondo, Sudesh Rathilal, Babatunde Femi Bakare and Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh
Microorganisms 2023, 11(3), 643; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11030643 - 2 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1836
Abstract
In this paper, the application of magnetite-nanoparticles and a microbial fuel cell (MFC) was studied on the anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge. The experimental set-up included six 1 L biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests with different external resistors: (a) 100 Ω, (b) [...] Read more.
In this paper, the application of magnetite-nanoparticles and a microbial fuel cell (MFC) was studied on the anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge. The experimental set-up included six 1 L biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests with different external resistors: (a) 100 Ω, (b) 300 Ω, (c) 500 Ω, (d) 800 Ω, (e) 1000 Ω, and (f) a control with no external resistor. The BMP tests were carried out using digesters with a working volume of 0.8 L fed with 0.5 L substrate, 0.3 L inoculum, and 0.53 g magnetite-nanoparticles. The results suggested that the ultimate biogas generation reached 692.7 mL/g VSfed in the 500 Ω digester, which was substantially greater than the 102.6 mL/g VSfed of the control. The electrochemical efficiency analysis also demonstrated higher coulombic efficiency (81.2%) and maximum power density (30.17 mW/ m2) for the 500 Ω digester. The digester also revealed a higher maximum voltage generation of 0.431 V, which was approximately 12.7 times the 0.034 V of the lowest-performing MFC (100 Ω digester). In terms of contaminants removed, the best-performing digester was the digester with 500 Ω, which reduced contaminants by more than 89% on COD, TS, VS, TSS and color. In terms of cost-benefit analysis, this digester produced the highest annual energy profit (48.22 ZAR/kWh or 3.45 USD/kWh). This infers the application of magnetite-nanoparticles and MFC on the AD of sewage sludge is very promising for biogas production. The digester with an external resistor of 500 Ω showed a high potential for use in bioelectrochemical biogas generation and contaminant removal for sewage sludge. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Fuel Cell and Microbial Electrolysis Cell)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1942 KiB  
Article
Use of Microbial Fuel Cells for the Treatment of Residue Effluents Discharged from an Anaerobic Digester Treating Food Wastes
by Daichi Yoshizu, Atsushi Kouzuma and Kazuya Watanabe
Microorganisms 2023, 11(3), 598; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11030598 - 27 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1822
Abstract
One of practical challenges in anaerobic-digestion (AD) technology is the cost-effective treatment of residue effluents containing high concentrations of organics, nitrogen and phosphorus (CNP). In order to evaluate the utility of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for treating anaerobic-digester effluents (ADEs) and generating power [...] Read more.
One of practical challenges in anaerobic-digestion (AD) technology is the cost-effective treatment of residue effluents containing high concentrations of organics, nitrogen and phosphorus (CNP). In order to evaluate the utility of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for treating anaerobic-digester effluents (ADEs) and generating power from them, laboratory-scale single-chamber MFCs were filled with ADE obtained from a commercial AD plant treating food wastes and thereafter operated by routinely supplying ADE at different hydraulic residence times (HRTs, 5 to 20 days). It is shown that MFCs were able to reduce not only organics in ADE but also nitrogen and phosphorus. For instance, data demonstrated that over 50% of CNP was removed in MFCs operated at an HRT of 10 days, at which the maximum power density reached over 200 mW m−2 (based on the projected area of anode). Metabarcoding of 16S rRNA genes showed that some bacteria were specifically enriched in anode biofilms, suggesting their involvement in power generation. Our study suggests that MFCs are applicable to reducing CNP in ADEs at reasonable rates, and provides subsequent work with fundamental data useful for setting targets for further developments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Fuel Cell and Microbial Electrolysis Cell)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 3223 KiB  
Article
A New Reactor Concept for Single-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells and Possible Anti-Fouling Strategies for Long-Term Operation
by Dennis R. Haupt, Laura Landwehr, René Schumann, Lena Hahn, Mohammad Issa, Can Coskun, Ulrich Kunz and Michael Sievers
Microorganisms 2022, 10(12), 2421; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10122421 - 7 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1785
Abstract
Microbial fuel cells are a promising technology for future wastewater treatment, as it allows cleaning and power generation simultaneously. The bottleneck of microbial fuel cells is often its cathodes because they determine the power output. Gas diffusion electrodes might overcome this bottleneck due [...] Read more.
Microbial fuel cells are a promising technology for future wastewater treatment, as it allows cleaning and power generation simultaneously. The bottleneck of microbial fuel cells is often its cathodes because they determine the power output. Gas diffusion electrodes might overcome this bottleneck due to their low production costs and high oxygen reduction rates. However, biofilm formation on the gas diffusion electrodes reduces their performance over time. In this work, a new reactor design of the microbial fuel cell using rotating gas diffusion electrodes is presented. The biofilm growth on the electrode during operation was observed and its effect on the performance of the microbial fuel cell was examined. In addition, different antifouling strategies were investigated over a period of 80 days. It was found that already after 7 days of operation a complete biofilm had grown on an untreated gas diffusion electrode. However, this does not seem to affect the performance of the cells in the beginning. Differences in the performance of the reactors with and without an antifouling strategy only become apparent from day 15 onwards. The use of UV radiation and antibacterial membranes leads to the best results with maximum power densities of approx. 200 mW m−2 while the untreated microbial fuel cell only achieves a maximum power density of approx. 20 mW m−2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Fuel Cell and Microbial Electrolysis Cell)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 2619 KiB  
Article
Hydrogen Production in Microbial Electrolysis Cells Based on Bacterial Anodes Encapsulated in a Small Bioreactor Platform
by Irina Amar Dubrovin, Lea Ouaknin Hirsch, Shmuel Rozenfeld, Bharath Gandu, Ofir Menashe, Alex Schechter and Rivka Cahan
Microorganisms 2022, 10(5), 1007; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10051007 - 11 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4200
Abstract
Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are an emerging technology capable of harvesting part of the potential chemical energy in organic compounds while producing hydrogen. One of the main obstacles in MECs is the bacterial anode, which usually contains mixed cultures. Non-exoelectrogens can act as [...] Read more.
Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are an emerging technology capable of harvesting part of the potential chemical energy in organic compounds while producing hydrogen. One of the main obstacles in MECs is the bacterial anode, which usually contains mixed cultures. Non-exoelectrogens can act as a physical barrier by settling on the anode surface and displacing the exoelectrogenic microorganisms. Those non-exoelectrogens can also compete with the exoelectrogenic microorganisms for nutrients and reduce hydrogen production. In addition, the bacterial anode needs to withstand the shear and friction forces existing in domestic wastewater plants. In this study, a bacterial anode was encapsulated by a microfiltration membrane. The novel encapsulation technology is based on a small bioreactor platform (SBP) recently developed for achieving successful bioaugmentation in wastewater treatment plants. The 3D capsule (2.5 cm in length, 0.8 cm in diameter) physically separates the exoelectrogenic biofilm on the carbon cloth anode material from the natural microorganisms in the wastewater, while enabling the diffusion of nutrients through the capsule membrane. MECs based on the SBP anode (MEC-SBPs) and the MECs based on a nonencapsulated anode (MEC control) were fed with Geobacter medium supplied with acetate for 32 days, and then with artificial wastewater for another 46 days. The electrochemical activity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), bacterial anode viability and relative distribution on the MEC-SBP anode were compared with the MEC control. When the MECs were fed with artificial wastewater, the MEC-SBP produced (at −0.6 V) 1.70 ± 0.22 A m−2, twice that of the MEC control. The hydrogen evolution rates were 0.017 and 0.005 m3 m−3 day−1, respectively. The COD consumption rate for both was about the same at 650 ± 70 mg L−1. We assume that developing the encapsulated bacterial anode using the SBP technology will help overcome the problem of contamination by non-exoelectrogenic bacteria, as well as the shear and friction forces in wastewater plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Fuel Cell and Microbial Electrolysis Cell)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop