Microscale microbial fuel cells: Advances and challenges

The next generation of sustainable energy could come from microorganisms; evidence that it can be seen with the given rise of Electromicrobiology, the study of microorganisms’ electrical properties. Many recent advances in electromicrobiology stem from studying microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biosensors & bioelectronics 2015-07, Vol.69, p.8-25
Main Author: Choi, Seokheun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
Biochemical fuel cells
Bioelectric Energy Sources - microbiology
Bioelectric Energy Sources - trends
Biofuel cells
Density
Electrodes - trends
Electromicrobiology
Electronics
Energy Transfer
Equipment Design
Equipment Failure Analysis
Forecasting
Microfabrication
Microorganisms
Microscale microbial fuel cells
Miniaturization
Photosynthesis
Renewable energy
Scaling up
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Summary:The next generation of sustainable energy could come from microorganisms; evidence that it can be seen with the given rise of Electromicrobiology, the study of microorganisms’ electrical properties. Many recent advances in electromicrobiology stem from studying microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which are gaining acceptance as a future alternative “green” energy technology and energy-efficient wastewater treatment method. MFCs are powered by living microorganisms with clean and sustainable features; they efficiently catalyse the degradation of a broad range of organic substrates under natural conditions. There is also increasing interest in photosynthetic MFCs designed to harness Earth’s most abundant and promising energy source (solar irradiation). Despite their vast potential and promise, however, MFCs and photosynthetic MFCs have not yet successfully translated into commercial applications because they demonstrate persistent performance limitations and bottlenecks associated with scaling up. Instead, microscale MFCs have received increasing attention as a unique platform for various applications such as powering small portable electronic elements in remote locations, performing fundamental studies of microorganisms, screening bacterial strains, and toxicity detection in water. Furthermore, the stacking of miniaturized MFCs has been demonstrated to offer larger power densities than a single macroscale MFC in terms of scaling up. In this overview, we discuss recent achievements in microscale MFCs as well as their potential applications. Further scientific and technological challenges are also reviewed. •This review covers the full scope of microscale microbial fuel cells (MFCs).•Recent advances and challenges of potential applications of micro-sized MFCs are discussed.•Further scientific and technological challenges are also reviewed.
ISSN:0956-5663
1873-4235
DOI:10.1016/j.bios.2015.02.021