Open Access
REVIEW
Utilization of Nanomaterials as Anode Modifiers for Improving Microbial Fuel Cells Performance
Nishit Savla1, Raksha Anand2, Soumya Pandit2,*, Ram Prasad3,*
1 Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Mumbai, India
2 Department of Life Sciences, School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida, 201306, India
3 Department of Botany, Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar, 845401, India
* Corresponding Authors: Soumya Pandit. Email: ; Ram Prasad. Email:
Journal of Renewable Materials 2020, 8(12), 1581-1605. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.011803
Received 30 May 2020; Accepted 08 July 2020; Issue published 12 November 2020
Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an attractive innovation at the nexus of
energy and water security for the future. MFC utilizes electrochemically active
microorganisms to oxidize biodegradable substrates and generate bioelectricity
in a single step. The material of the anode plays a vital role in increasing the
MFC’s power output. The anode in MFC can be upgraded using nanomaterials
providing benefits of exceptional physicochemical properties. The nanomaterials
in anode gives a high surface area, improved electron transfer promotes electroactive biofilm. Enhanced power output in terms of Direct current (DC) can be
obtained as the consequence of improved microbe-electrode interaction. However,
several limitations like complex synthesis and degeneration of property do exist in
the development of nanomaterial-based anode. The present review discusses different
renewable nanomaterial applied in the anode to recover bioelectricity in MFC. Carbon
nanomaterials have emerged in the past decade as promising materials for anode construction. Composite materials have also demonstrated the capacity to become potential
anode materials of choice. Application of a few transition metal oxides have been
explored for efficient extracellular electron transport (EET) from microbes to the anode.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Savla, N., Anand, R., Pandit, S., Prasad, R. (2020). Utilization of Nanomaterials as Anode Modifiers for Improving Microbial Fuel Cells Performance.
Journal of Renewable Materials, 8(12), 1581–1605. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2020.011803
Citations