Chapter 13 - Application of the microbial carbon capture cells for CO2 sequestration

Abstract

Microbial carbon capture cells (MCCCs) are a type of microbial fuel cell (MFCs) that are an effective technology to remove nitrogenous and phosphorous compounds from the wastewater to generate bioelectricity and simultaneously produce algal biomass through CO2 sequestration. The cultivated algal biomass is of high significance as the biomass can be extracted to effectively generate value-added by-products. By utilizing bacterioalgal symbiotic consortium, MCCCs efficiently perform CO2 sequestration to reduce even point source carbon dioxide emission. Few advantages of MCCCs over other type of MFCs are that the oxygen released in the cathode compartment during the light phase of algal photosynthesis reduces the cost of external aeration, thereby decreasing the overall operation cost. Other than extracting value-added by-products from the harvested algal biomass, it can be used as a direct feedstock in the anodic chamber to be used as the substrate, and when used in the cathodic chamber, it can be used to produce bioethanol.