Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development
Currently, access to electricity in the cities of the Global South is so limited that electrification remains low in rural areas. Unless properly tackled, one-third of the world’s cities will suffer from energy scarcity. The emergence of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology accelerates the deploymen...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/169392 |
| _version_ | 1811686528850591744 |
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| author | Kurniawan. Tonni Agustiono Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman Liang, Xue Muhammad Ayub Goh, Hui Hwang Kusworo, Tutuk Djoko Ayesha Mohyuddin Chew, Kit Wayne |
| author2 | School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology |
| author_facet | School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Kurniawan. Tonni Agustiono Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman Liang, Xue Muhammad Ayub Goh, Hui Hwang Kusworo, Tutuk Djoko Ayesha Mohyuddin Chew, Kit Wayne |
| author_sort | Kurniawan. Tonni Agustiono |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Currently, access to electricity in the cities of the Global South is so limited that electrification remains low in rural areas. Unless properly tackled, one-third of the world’s cities will suffer from energy scarcity. The emergence of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology accelerates the deployment of decentralized and sustainable energy solutions that can address the looming energy shortage. This review consolidates scattered knowledge into one article about the performance of MFC in optimizing electricity generation from phosphorus (P)-laden wastewater, while removing the target nutrient from wastewater simultaneously. It is obvious from a literature survey of 108 published articles (1999–2022) that the applications of MFC for building a self-powered municipal water treatment system represents an important breakthrough, as this enables water treatment operators to generate electricity without affecting the atmospheric balance of CO2. Using a pyrite-based wetland MFC, about 91% of P was removed after operating 180 days, while generating power output of 48 A/m2. Unlike other techniques, MFCs utilize bacteria that act as micro-reactors and allow substrates to be oxidized completely. The Earth’s tiniest inhabitants can efficiently transform the chemical energy of organic matter in unused wastewater either into hydrogen gas or electricity. This facilitates wastewater treatment plants powering themselves in daily operation or selling electricity on the market. This MFC technology radically changes how to treat wastewater universally. By exploring this direction along the water–energy–food nexus, MFC technology could transform wastewater treatment plants into a key sustainability tool in the energy sector. This suggests that MFCs provide a practical solution that addresses the need of global society for clean water and electricity simultaneously. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:01:51Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/169392 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:01:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1693922023-07-21T15:31:46Z Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development Kurniawan. Tonni Agustiono Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman Liang, Xue Muhammad Ayub Goh, Hui Hwang Kusworo, Tutuk Djoko Ayesha Mohyuddin Chew, Kit Wayne School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Engineering::Chemical engineering Carbon Neutrality Circular Economy Currently, access to electricity in the cities of the Global South is so limited that electrification remains low in rural areas. Unless properly tackled, one-third of the world’s cities will suffer from energy scarcity. The emergence of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology accelerates the deployment of decentralized and sustainable energy solutions that can address the looming energy shortage. This review consolidates scattered knowledge into one article about the performance of MFC in optimizing electricity generation from phosphorus (P)-laden wastewater, while removing the target nutrient from wastewater simultaneously. It is obvious from a literature survey of 108 published articles (1999–2022) that the applications of MFC for building a self-powered municipal water treatment system represents an important breakthrough, as this enables water treatment operators to generate electricity without affecting the atmospheric balance of CO2. Using a pyrite-based wetland MFC, about 91% of P was removed after operating 180 days, while generating power output of 48 A/m2. Unlike other techniques, MFCs utilize bacteria that act as micro-reactors and allow substrates to be oxidized completely. The Earth’s tiniest inhabitants can efficiently transform the chemical energy of organic matter in unused wastewater either into hydrogen gas or electricity. This facilitates wastewater treatment plants powering themselves in daily operation or selling electricity on the market. This MFC technology radically changes how to treat wastewater universally. By exploring this direction along the water–energy–food nexus, MFC technology could transform wastewater treatment plants into a key sustainability tool in the energy sector. This suggests that MFCs provide a practical solution that addresses the need of global society for clean water and electricity simultaneously. Published version The research was funded by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Research Grants No. Q.J130000.21A6.00P14 and No. Q.J130000.3809. 22H07. 2023-07-17T08:08:40Z 2023-07-17T08:08:40Z 2022 Journal Article Kurniawan. Tonni Agustiono, Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman, Liang, X., Muhammad Ayub, Goh, H. H., Kusworo, T. D., Ayesha Mohyuddin & Chew, K. W. (2022). Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development. Sustainability, 14(24), 16847-. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su142416847 2071-1050 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/169392 10.3390/su142416847 2-s2.0-85144402484 24 14 16847 en Sustainability © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Engineering::Chemical engineering Carbon Neutrality Circular Economy Kurniawan. Tonni Agustiono Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman Liang, Xue Muhammad Ayub Goh, Hui Hwang Kusworo, Tutuk Djoko Ayesha Mohyuddin Chew, Kit Wayne Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development |
| title | Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development |
| title_full | Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development |
| title_fullStr | Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development |
| title_short | Microbial fuel cells (MFC): a potential game-changer in renewable energy development |
| title_sort | microbial fuel cells mfc a potential game changer in renewable energy development |
| topic | Engineering::Chemical engineering Carbon Neutrality Circular Economy |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/169392 |
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