Potential of microbial fuel cells for wastewater treatment

Abstract Waste is the refuse generated by almost every human activity that gets worse when dissolved in water. Wastewater has a considerable amount of complex biological and chemical materials that can cause serious safety, sanitation, and environmental problems. However, these complex biological and chemical materials of wastewater also encourage the growth of countless microbial flora that can survive even in extreme environments. The development of a pathway to generate electricity from this microbial flora’s ability to degrade these biological and chemical materials is the driving force for the development of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). MFCs are bioelectrochemical systems that convert the chemical energy of wastewaters into electrical energy by metabolic (catalytic) activity of microorganisms. This chapter discusses the wastewater treatment potentials of MFCs.