ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses various types of bio-electro-chemical system, their application, highlighting majorly on wastewater treatment using Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC), and economic aspects of implementation of the technology at industrial scale. Various researches have been done at lab scale using synthetic organic substrate or model microbial consortia as catalyst for production of electricity in MFC. In a plant microbial fuel cell, the plant transfers its solar energy in the form of rhizospheric depositions, which are chemically sugars, polymeric carbohydrates, organic acids, dead cell material, and certain enzymes. In MFC, the chemical energy will be converted to electricity through the oxidation of biodegradable substrates with the help of exo-electrogenic bacteria. Various studies have been performed for the removal of ammonia and phosphate ions from the waste stream using MFC employed with ion exchange membrane. The MFC process was also compared to activated sludge process, and all the initial assessment shows that the MFC is a more attractive option.
