Electric power generation and wastewater treatment using microbial fuel cells
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37135/ns.01.07.10Keywords:
Bioelectricity, electrical energy, electrodes, microbial fuel cells, microorganisms, wastewaterAbstract
Water is a vital resource for living beings; however, during the last years, its quality has deteriorated, becoming a global pollution problem. On the other hand, the energy crisis does not allow the population to have a good quality of life, which stops in a certain way, the development. Because of this, options for wastewater treatment and electric power generation are required, being microbial fuel cells (MFCs), a representative technology that has allowed an alliance between the two problems. The MFCs take advantage of the metabolism of the bacteria for the treatment of wastewater while generating energy. In this work, based on recent research, the most important aspects that govern the operation of MFCs, such as classification, components, operating mechanisms, microbial activity, and electrode material. From the analysis of the information collected, it can be concluded that the generation of bioelectricity from wastewater treatment is possible with this unique technology that provides encouraging results.
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