Utilization of microbe-derived electricity for practical application

Application of biochar in microbial fuel cells: Characteristic performances, electron-transfer mechanism, and environmental and economic assessments

Biochar is a by-product of thermochemical conversion of biomass or other carbonaceous materials. Recently, it has garnered extensive attention for its high application potential in microbial fuel cell (MFC) systems owing to its high conductivity and low cost. However, the effects of biochar on MFC system performance have not been comprehensively reviewed, thereby necessitating the evaluation of the efficacy of biochar application in MFCs. In this review, biochar characteristics were outlined based on recent publications. Subsequently, various applications of biochar in the MFC systems and their probable processes were summarized. Finally, proposals for future applications of biochar in MFCs were explored along with its perspectives and an environmental evaluation in the context of a circular economy. The purpose of this review is to gain comprehensive insights into the application of biochar in the MFC systems, offering important viewpoints on the effective and steady utilization of biochar in MFCs for practical application.

Bioelectrochemical degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons: A critical review and future perspectives

As typical pollutants, petroleum hydrocarbons that are widely present in various environmental media such as soil, water, sediments, and air, seriously endanger living organisms and human health. In the meantime, as a green environmental technology that integrates pollutant removal and resource recovery, bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have been extensively applied to the removal of petroleum hydrocarbons from the environment. This review introduces working principles of BESs, following which it discusses the different reactor structures, application progresses, and key optimization factors when treating water, sewage sludges, sediments, and soil. Furthermore, bibliometrics was first used in this field to analyze the evolution of knowledge structure and forecast future hot topics. The research focus has shifted from the early generation of bioelectric energy to exploring mechanisms of soil remediation and microbial metabolisms, which will be closely integrated in the future. Finally, the future prospects of this field are proposed. This review focuses on the research status of bioelectrochemical degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons and provides a scientific reference for subsequent research.

Synergistic degradation for o-chlorophenol and enhancement of power generation by a coupled photocatalytic-microbial fuel cell system

A hierarchically photocatalytic microbial fuel cell system (PMFC) coupled with TiO₂ photoanode and bioanode was established to enhance the power generation based on single-chamber MFC. Compared with the conventional anaerobic mode, oxygen in the solution could be utilized by the photoanode of PMFC to improve the removal of o-chlorophenol (2-CP). The maximum power densities were increasing from 261 (MFC) to 301 mW/m² (PMFC). The removal efficiency of 2-CP (5 mg/L) in PMFC was 76.20% and higher than that in MFC (19.33%) and by photocatalysis (49.23%). The electron-hole separation efficiencies were decreasing with the increasing of dissolved oxygen, causing a low efficiency of photocatalysis, due to the reduction of the current density of the systems. The abundance of Geobacter sp., PHOS-HE36 fam., and Pseudomonas sp. was increased with illumination, contributing to improve the electricity production and 2-CP degradation. The only detective intermediate of 1,2-dichlorobenzene in PMFC indicated that the microbes could regulate the degradation pathway of 2-CP in the coupling system. These findings provided an feasible method for the effective degradation of refractory organic compounds and simultaneous energy recovery by combining photocatalysis and microbial power generation.

Bioinspired Nanosucker Array for Enhancing Bioelectricity Generation in Microbial Fuel Cells

A bioinspired active anode with a suction effect is demonstrated for microbial fuel cells by constructing polypyrrole (PPy) nanotubular arrays on carbon textiles. The oxygen in the inner space of the nanosucker can be depleted by micro-organisms with the capability of facul-tative respiration, forming a vacuum, which then activates the electrode to draw the microorganism by suction and thus improve the bioelectricity generation.

Research advances in deriving renewable energy from biomass in wastewater treatment plants

Anaerobic digestion (AD) can be used to derive renewable energy from biomass in wastewater treatment plants, and the produced biogas represents a valuable end-product that can greatly offset operation costs.

Electron acceptors for energy generation in microbial fuel cells fed with wastewaters: A mini-review

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have gained tremendous global interest over the last decades as a device that uses bacteria to oxidize organic and inorganic matters in the anode with bioelectricity generation and even for purpose of bioremediation. However, this prospective technology has not yet been carried out in field in particular because of its low power yields and target compounds removal which can be largely influenced by electron acceptors contributing to overcome the potential losses existing on the cathode. This mini review summarizes various electron acceptors used in recent years in the categories of inorganic and organic compounds, identifies their merits and drawbacks, and compares their influences on performance of MFCs, as well as briefly discusses possible future research directions particularly from cathode aspect.

Uncovering alternate charge transfer mechanisms in Escherichia coli chemically functionalized with conjugated oligoelectrolytes

Conjugated oligoelectrolytes integrated in Escherichia coli have been proposed to induce release of electroactive cytosolic components, which contributes to extracellular electron transfer.