Microbial Fuel Cells

364 Pages·2019·5.329 MB·English

by  Inamuddin, Mohammad F. Ahmer, Abdullah M. Asiri

Microbial Fuel Cells
Materials and Applications
Edited by

1,2,3 4
Inamuddin , Mohammad Faraz Ahmer ,
1,2
and Abdullah M. Asiri

1Centre of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University,
Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
2Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University,
Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
3Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202 002, India
4Department of Electrical Engineering, Mewat College of Engineering and Technology,
Mewat-122103, India
Copyright © 2019 by the authors

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Materials Research Foundations
Volume 46 (2019)
ISSN 2471-8890 (Print)
ISSN 2471-8904 (Online)

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Table of Contents

Preface
Microalgae–Microbial Fuel Cell
Sabeela Beevi Ummalyma, Dinabandhu Sahoo, Ashok Pandey,
Kooloth Valapil Prajeesh .................................................................................................. 1
The Progress of Microalgae Biofuel Cells
Rajesh K. Srivastava ....................................................................................................... 21
Microbial Fuel Cell Operating Conditions
Naveen Patel, Dhananjai Rai, MD. Zafar Ali Khan, Shivam Soni,
Umesh Mishra, Biswanath Bhunia .................................................................................. 53
Microbial Fuel Cells Characterization
Fatma Aydin Unal, Mehmet Harbi Calimli, Hakan Burhan, Fatma Sismanoglu,
Busra Yalcın, Fatih Şen................................................................................................... 75
Paper-Based Microbial Fuel Cell
Suruchee Samparnna Mishra, Swaraj Mohanty, Sonali Mohapatra ............................. 101
Carbon Nanotube Based Anodes and Cathodes for Microbial Fuel Cells
Naveen Patel, Dhananjai Rai, Deepak Chauhan, Shraddha Shahane,
Umesh Mishra, Biswanath Bhunia ................................................................................ 125
Use of Carbon-Nanotube Based Materials in Microbial Fuel Cells
Hakan Burhan, Gazi Yilmaz, Ahmet Zeytun, Harbi Calimli, Fatih Sen ...................... 151
Biofuel Production from Food Processing Waste
Nivedita Sharma, Kanika Sharma, Neha Kaushal, Ranjana Sharma ............................ 177
Microbial Desalination Cell: An Integrated Technology for Desalination,
Wastewater Treatment and Renewable Energy Generation
V.R.V. Ashwaniy, M. Perumalsamy ............................................................................. 221
Biofuels from Food Processing Wastes
Rouf Ahmad Dar, Mudasir Yaqoob, Manisha Parmar, Urmila Gupta Phutela ........... 249
Microbial Fuel Cell for the Treatment of Wastewater
Dibyajyoti Haldar, Mriganka Sekhar Manna, Dwaipayan Sen,
Tridib Kumar Bhowmick, Kalyan Gayen ..................................................................... 289
Microbial Production of Ethanol
Khush Bakhat Alia, Ijaz Rasul, Farrukh Azeem, Sabir Hussain,
Muhammad Hussnain Siddique, Saima Muzammil, Muhammad Riaz,
Amna Bari, Sehrish Liaqat, Habibullah Nadeem .......................................................... 307
Microbial Production of Propanol
Mehmet Gülcan, Fulya Gülbağça, Kubra Sevval Cevik,
Remziye Kartop, Fatih Şen ........................................................................................... 335

Keyword Index .............................................................................................................. 354
About the Editors ........................................................................................................... 355
Preface
Nowadays, a renewable and clean source of energy is the need for our industrialized
world. The industrial developments have increased the socioeconomic status of the
people. On the other hand, it is leading to a global energy crisis, excessive environment
pollution and depletion of fossil fuels. An alternative source of energy may somehow
encounter these human threatening problems. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are one of
the new renewable sources of energy that are based on the direct conversion of organic
or inorganic matters to electricity by utilizing dynamic microorganism as a biocatalyst.
Supported advancements and consistent improvement endeavours have recognized the
practicality of microbial fuel cells for power generation in various specialized
applications that require only low power, for example, ultracapacitors, small 3-wagon
toy train, portable electronic gadgets, meteorological buoys, remote sensors, digital
wristwatches, smartphones, hardware in space and robots. Wastewater treatment
beyond electricity generation is also possible by using microbial fuel cells. Therefore,
the values added applications of microbial fuel cells has drawn the wise attention of
research and development specialist of various disciplines including, engineers,
biotechnologists biologists, environmentalist, material scientists and mechanical
engineers. The research in the area of microbial fuel cells has been in progress towards
the development of practically viable technologies. Thus, microbial fuel cells based
devices have an incredible future but still more research and development studies are
needed for commercializing them at a large scale.
Microbial Fuel Cells: Materials and Applications explores the various aspects of
microbial fuel cells, including fuel cells electrochemistry, characterization techniques
and operating conditions. The progress of microbial fuel cells is also discussed in brief.
The use of different types of materials for the construction of anode and cathode are
also reported. Wastewater treatment, desalination and biofuel production by using
microbial fuel cells are also described in details.
We are appreciative to all the contributing authors and their co-authors for their nice
chapters. We may like to thank all publishers and authors who had given permission to
use their figures, tables, and schemes.
Inamuddin1,2,3, Mohammad Faraz Ahmer4 and Abdullah M. Asiri1,2
1Centre of Excellence for Advanced Materials Research, King Abdulaziz University,
Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
2Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589,
Saudi Arabia
3Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh
Muslim University, Aligarh-202 002, India
4Department of Electrical Engineering, Mewat College of Engineering and Technology,
Mewat-122103, India
Microbial Fuel Cells: Materials and Applications Materials Research Forum LLC
Materials Research Foundations 46 (2019) 1-20 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21741/9781644900116-1

Chapter 1

Microalgae–Microbial Fuel Cell

Sabeela Beevi Ummalyma1,*, Dinabandhu Sahoo1, Ashok Pandey2, Kooloth Valapil Prajeesh3
1Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), A National Institute under
Department of Biotechnology Govt.of India, Takyelpat, Imphal-795001 Manipur, India
2CSIR-Indian Institute for Toxicology Research, 226-001, Lucknow, India
3CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST),
Trivandrum-695 019, India
* [email protected]
Abstract
Pollution of the environment associated with increased population along with energy
consumption and the projected reduction of fossil fuels highlights the necessities for
sustainable, cost-effective eco-friendly bio-energy sources. The latest research on
microalgae revealed that algal biomass has promising technologies for biofuel
production, high-value product development, carbon sequestration and wastewater
treatment. However, the latest application of microalgal biomass is its use as microbial
fuel cells (MFCs). Microalgae-based microbial fuel cells (mMFCs) are used as a device
that can convert energy from sunlight into electrical energy through biological pathways.
This chapter is aimed to highlight the advantages of microalgae for power generation in
MFCs, factors influencing electricity production from algae, and future perspectives of
mMFCs.
Keywords
Microalgae, Microbial Fuel Cells, Bioenergy, Algal Biomass
Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................2
2. Microbial fuel cells .....................................................................................3
3. Microalgal microbial fuel cell (mMFC) technology ............................... 4
3.1 Role of microalgae at the anode ..........................................................4
3.2 Role of algae at the cathode ................................................................. 5
1
Microbial Fuel Cells: Materials and Applications Materials Research Forum LLC
Materials Research Foundations 46 (2019) 1-20 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21741/9781644900116-1

4. Factors affecting bioelectricity generation from microalgae ................ 6
4.1 pH .........................................................................................................6
4.2 Temperature .........................................................................................7
4.3 Light and photosynthesis .....................................................................7
4.4 Nature of substrate and its load. ..........................................................8
4.5 Membrane material ..............................................................................9
Future perspective and conclusion .....................................................................9
Acknowledgement ..............................................................................................1 0
References ...........................................................................................................1 0

1. Introduction
The increase in alarming signals of global warming associated with the energy crisis
throughout the world lead researchers to focus on alternative renewable energy sources.
There are different types of resources which have been investigated for bio-energy
applications ranging from corn, lignocellulosic biomass, agricultural and other industrial
wastes [1]. Microalgae are known as photosynthetic green microscopic plants and
resources for third generation biofuels. The advantageous features of algal biomass
include high growth rate, availability throughout the year, cultivation on non-agricultural
land and are non-competitive with food. The photosynthesis process is initiated with the
photon induction in an algal cell similar to higher plants and carbon fixation into different
storage compounds such as lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. Many types of research
have proven that algal biomass can be used for biofuel production. However, the process
technology has not been commercialized in a full-scale operation due to certain
challenges associated with energy intensive and costly process. Algal biomass harvesting
from liquid suspension itself is 30% of the cost of the whole process [2]. Consequently, a
possible way of algal biomass utilization is where drying and harvesting are not involved
in the process. Hence the coupling of algal biomass in microbial fuel cells represents a
possible, cost effective, alternative environmental friendly technology for sustainable
biorefineries. Microalgae can be mass cultivated in seawater, wastewater and rivers as
valuable biomass enriched with carbohydrates, lipids and protein. They can be exploited
for a wide range of applications of bio-energy with different routes for bio-oils, biodiesel,
bioethanol, biomethane, hydrogen and even electricity as well [3-5]. The microalgal
biomass production has been initiated with suitable algal strain selection and cultivation,
dewatering of biomass from suspended water via harvesting methods followed by
2
Microbial Fuel Cells: Materials and Applications Materials Research Forum LLC
Materials Research Foundations 46 (2019) 1-20 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21741/9781644900116-1

subsequent thickening, drying, post-processing for oils and other product extractions [6].
For mass cultivation of algae, biomass is conducted either in phototrophic or mixotrophic
cultivation systems. Algal growths under phototrophic conditions are limited by the light
sources. Under high light intensities, the growth of cells is limited; whereas penetration
of light can be affected at high cell density, penetration of light is limited to few
millimetres of depth from the surface. However, photobioreactor with a large surface area
per unit volume and appropriate light intensities are recommended [7]. Microorganisms’
cells have simple cellular construction for fast growth; usually grow in motile unicellular
states which help for an easy harvest [8]. Algae-based photosynthetic microbial fuel cell
(PMMFC) is an attractive technology, algae are utilized to provide organic substrates in
the anodic compartment, production of oxygen for the cathodic compartment, carbon
dioxide capture, biofuel production and wastewater treatment [1, 9-16]. This chapter
summarizes the microalgal microbial fuel cells along with their advantages and
limitations. Future perspectives for the commercial applications are also discussed.
2. Microbial fuel cells
The microbial fuel cell (MFC) functions on the catalytic activity of certain
microorganisms which utilize organic compounds as a substrate for generating electrons
at anode [17]. The electrons present in the anode chamber travelled through an external
circuit for electricity generation. These electrons are reduced in the cathode chamber and
finally, redox reaction is completed. Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) are used for
separating anode and cathode chambers [18]. The ordinary MFCs operate by using a
variety of substrates such as alcohols [19], glucose [20], acetates [21] and organic
compounds [22]. These fuel cells are gaining more attraction recently owing to their
possibility as a renewable source of energy coupled with wastewater treatment [23, 24].
MFCs technology based on the microbiological process, where some bacteria oxidize
organic compounds under anaerobic condition and power is generated as a result of
electron transport via an electrical circuit. In addition, as a result of the metabolism of
substrates, secondary byproduct like hydrogen is produced which can act as fuel and
oxidized to produce electrons [25].
The main limitation of MFC is that it works on connection with wastewater treatment
which reduces system performance and hence decreasing the output of power. Even
though, for more power the substrate feeding rate needs to be increased which is not a
cost effective process [26, 27]. The main problems of MFCs for practical use are the cost
associated with high installation/operation along with the use of costly membranes and
the Pt-implemented cathode. Research is undergoing to lower the fuel cell cost with the
refinement of the architecture of MFCs [28] for applying single chamber design to proton
3