Journal of Chemistry

Design and Environmental Applications of Microbial Fuel Cells


Publishing date
01 Feb 2022
Status
Closed
Submission deadline
08 Oct 2021

1Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, Malaysia

2Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

3Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico

This issue is now closed for submissions.

Design and Environmental Applications of Microbial Fuel Cells

This issue is now closed for submissions.

Description

Two of today’s most urgent environmental issues are water pollution and the energy crisis, both of which stand at the crux of wastewater treatment. Despite several types of biological, chemical, and physical approaches to treat pollutants in wastewater resources, they all pose various drawbacks, including high energy requirements, high operating costs, high consumption of chemicals, and the generation of waste as a by-product. Among these disadvantages, the high amount of energy needed to treat wastewater coincides with the worldwide energy crisis that we are currently facing. In response, immense efforts have been devoted to developing cost-effective and low-energy methods for removing toxic pollutants from wastewater. Based on their advantages over other techniques, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been recognized as a viable technology for removing toxic pollutants from wastewater while simultaneously producing energy. MFCs consist of two electrodes—an anode and a cathode—in which the former is responsible for providing sufficient space for bacterial growth and respiration to oxidize organic matter in the wastewater. Protons and electrons will then be generated from the reduction and oxidation reactions taking place in the MFCs. In recent years, research into MFCs has increased significantly, reflecting their growing popularity. MFCs are also considered bioelectrochemical devices, utilizing electroactive microbes and mimicking bacterial interactions as biocatalysts for the generation of bioelectricity and treatment of wastewater pollutants, representing a promising technology for future clean energy generation.

Despite this, MFCs have lacked commercial viability due to their low efficiency. Several parameters directly affect the performance of MFCs: their scale and design, the efficiency of the proton exchange membrane (PEM), cell resistance, organic substrate, and the materials used as the electrodes. The potential of these technologies remains unfulfilled, as when scaled-up, the systems face significant challenges. The obstacles limiting the implementation of large-scale MFCs systems include high cost, poor stability of current electrodes, and the complex nature of the biofilm–electrode interface. The development of low-cost, active, and stable catalysts will contribute to the performance of MFCs and the optimization of electrode interfaces under the working conditions of the MFC are also of paramount importance. Developing highly efficient electrode materials, catalysts, and scaling-up design, which can minimize fabrication costs, will bring the technology a step closer to practical applications.

This Special Issue is focused on recent advancements in MFC technology and aims to provide a forum to communicate the latest findings, challenges, and recommendations in biological and non-biological catalysts, advancements in fabrication and design of electrodes, reactor design and scaling up, MFC types, operational mechanisms, and applications of MFCs. Additionally, the emerging trend of utilizing natural waste materials as electrodes in MFC technology to improve performance is encouraged. We welcome both original research and review articles, and we highly encourage authors to discuss future perspectives and address the challenges of commercialization of MFC technology, such as cost issues or cost analysis.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Microbial fuel cells
  • Microbial fuel cell hybrid systems
  • Hybrid MFC-membrane bioreactors
  • Microbial fuel cell configuration
  • Bioelectricity generation
  • Electro-active microbes in MFCs
  • Organic and inorganic pollutant treatment
  • Biological and non-biological catalysts
  • Natural organic substrates
  • Wastewater treatment using MFCs
  • Waste-derived materials for electrode fabrication
  • Challenges in MFC commercialization
  • Sustainable future perspectives
Journal of Chemistry
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Acceptance rate20%
Submission to final decision115 days
Acceptance to publication15 days
CiteScore5.100
Journal Citation Indicator0.400
Impact Factor3.0
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