Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioelectrochemical Systems

Abstract

This article is dedicated to microbial bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), a novel conception for industrial and environmental biotechnology allowing the exploitation of low-value biomasses, like wastewater. Microbial BESs are based on the microbially assisted oxidation of substrates and the microbially facilitated transfer of electrons from the substrate to the BES anode that serves as terminal microbial electron acceptor. In this article, the fundamentals of the microbial extracellular electron transfer are discussed, including the different electron-transfer mechanisms and their thermodynamics (i.e., their energetic efficiency). Subsequently, major BES classes are presented. These include microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for electricity generation, microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) for the production of value-added products such as hydrogen or hydrogen peroxide as well as bioremediation and biosensor applications. As microbial BESs are still in their infancy and face a rapid progress in their development, the article highlights the principal concepts rather than engineering details.