ABSTRACT
Increasing population growth, rapid industrialization, and high standards of living along with the associated per-capita consumption has resulted in a scarcity of potable water worldwide. In this aspect desalination of sea and brackish water is one of the viable options to help overcome the drinking water shortage. The treatment of such water with conventional process is presently energy-intensive and therefore requires an alternative solution. Microbial desalination cell (MDC) is an emerging and promising technology derived from microbial fuel cells (MFCs). It provides a simultaneous solution of wastewater treatment, water desalination and power production in a single reactor. MDC is composed of a three-chamber assembly separated by an ion exchange membrane. The degradation of the organic wastewater in the anodic chamber generates the current that is helpful for driving the ions from the desalination chamber and selectively exchanging them through the membranes by osmosis and diffusion. The present book chapter provides detailed insight into the basic principle, design configuration, operational parameters and recent trends of materials that are used for the fabrication of the MDC component. The MDC process's sustainability through life cycle assessment is discussed along with its environmental impacts during the whole life cycle by its material consumption and energy use. Additionally, its mathematical model is also described to understand the MDC performance at different operating conditions.
