Chapter 28 - Biofuel cell: existing formats, production level, constraints, and potential uses

Abstract

Microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) employ cost-effective and self-sustainable biocatalysts to produce bioenergy, biofuel, and other valuable products with concomitant abatement of water pollution through the treatment of wastewater. METs also possess the advantages of carbon sequestration, mitigation of global warming, and the nonrequirement of arable land for the production of biofuels. However, the inferior yield of METs needs to be enhanced considerably for its sustainable field-scale application through the development of low-cost but efficient electrocatalysts and membranes, which can be a significant step toward the scaling-up of METs. This chapter elucidates the different types of METs, like microbial fuel cells, microbial carbon-capture cells, microbial electrolysis cells, and microbial electrosynthesis cells for the production of bioenergy with simultaneous wastewater treatment. The major bottlenecks toward the field-scale applications of METs have also been highlighted with a special focus on the future scope of research in this field.