Captivating Technology for Generation of Bioenergy from Industrial Waste: Microbial Fuel Cell

Abstract

Due to the increasing human activities, the energy requirement gets increased which leads to the depletion of fossil fuel. Because of this precarious scenario, many research works are being carried out all over the globe to identify a source that is potentially cheap and renewable for energy production. This alternate fuel source should satisfy the energy requirement and also should be eco-friendly. The pollution is the major problem in developing countries which is caused by waste materials. Technically they are not waste because enormous amount of energy is hiding in those materials. A technology which taps out energy from waste materials can solve both problems. One of those promising technology is fuel from microbes. This is a method in which microbes are employed to both degrade the waste materials and synthesis energy from it in form of electricity. It is advantageous over other anaerobic digestion systems, because the end product is biogas which is mostly used for the production of electricity with some loss of energy. But by using Microbial Fuel System the problem can be eliminated. This is one of the emerging technologies for treating wastewater and generating electricity. In last few years, Microbial Fuel Cell has attained significance due to their ability to produce energy from renewable sources such as organic waste. This chapter reviews about the different aspects of MFC to treat industrial waste which has more organic waste in a batch and fed batch mode. Besides, the key components of the MFC are electrode materials and its performance is influenced by living biocatalyst and a electrochemically active biofilm developed at the anode. Carbon based electrodes derived from waste materials are commonly used as both anode and cathode and are employed in MFC’s due to their biocompatible nature, durability, conductivity and lower cost. The present book chapter describes elaborately about the possibilities of bioenergy from industrial waste, effects of industrial waste on environment, traditional treatment methods and its demerits, MFC concepts, prospects, confront, applications, its design and configuration, challenges and next generation point of view.