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Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Waste Water Derived Electroactive Microbial Biofilms: Growth, Maintenance, and Basic Characterization
Published on: December 29, 2013
A review of a recently emerged technology: Constructed wetland--Microbial fuel cells
Liam Doherty1, Yaqian Zhao2, Xiaohong Zhao3
1UCD Dooge Centre for Water Resource Research, School of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Abstract:
Constructed wetlands (CWs) and microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are compatible technologies since both are reliant on the actions of bacteria to remove contaminants from wastewater. MFCs require the anode to remain anaerobic with the cathode exposed to oxygen while these redox conditions can develop naturally in CWs. For this reason, research into combining the two technologies (termed as CW-MFC) has emerged in recent years with the aim of improving the wastewater treatment capacity of wetlands while simultaneously producing electrical power. Based on the published work (although limited), this review aims to provide a timely, current state-of-the-art in CW-MFC while exploring future challenges and research directions.
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