Integrated Wastewater Treatment and Energy Production Using Microbial Fuel Cell Technology: A Sustainable Environment Management Approach

Microbial Fuel cell (MFC) has come up as a promising technology for the treatment of wastewater along with simultaneous energy generation. In the initial stages of development of MFC technology, it was mainly used for organic matter removal, specially COD, but nowadays, it is also explored for treatments that include heavy metal removal/recovery, dye degradation and colour removal, nutrient toxicity removal (phosphate, nitrate) and treatment of other xenobiotic compounds like nitrobenzene, chlorobenzene and others. While conventional wastewater treatment technologies are costly due to their dependence on energy and chemicals, the MFC technology recovers energy from the wastewater during treatment. Further, there is no generation of toxic sludge in this bioelectrochemical method in contrast to that of traditional physico-chemical treatment methods. The present chapter critically discusses various applications of MFC technology in wastewater treatment along with its power generation scenario. Challenges associated with MFC technology to finally upscale it to the field level can be addressed by further research insights, particularly in the areas including electrode material, separators, biofilm communities, design and configuration briefly discussed in this study. The chapter critically assesses the technical and economic feasibility of MFC technology that can play an important role towards achieving the sustainability goals of clean water and alternate energy through energy-supported wastewater treatment.