Microbial fuel cells as future of green technology: a systematic review

In the recent years, microbial fuel cells (MFC) have been considered an emerging technology for bioenergy production as the MCFs have the potential to transform organic compounds directly into energy through electrochemical reactions catalyzed by microorganisms. MFC technology may be an attractive approach over traditional wastewater treatment in terms of low cost and environmental sustainability. This results in substantial energy savings, decreased sludge production, and improved energy conversion. This review provides a detailed overview of standard MFCs, elucidating their fundamental working principle and their major components including anode compartment, cathode compartment, membrane/salt bridge, substrate type, and microorganisms. Various parameters that enhance performance and scalability of the MFC are also discussed in this review, which include acidity, salinity, type of microbes, electrode materials, membrane type, geometric design of MFC, and operating parameters. Furthermore, we highlighted the practical applications of MFCs for wastewater treatment, biosensors, and secondary biofuel production. Overall, this review provides insight for a better understanding of all the mandatory parameters required for the practical implementation of MFC technology in the real-world sample.