Constructed wetland integrated microbial fuel cell system: looking back, moving forward

In the last 10 years, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been extensively studied worldwide to extract energy from wastewater via electricity generation. More recently, a merged technique of embedding MFC into a constructed wetland (CW) has been developed and appears to be increasingly investigated....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water science and technology 2017-07, Vol.76 (2), p.471-477
Main Authors: Wang, Yae, Zhao, Yaqian, Xu, Lei, Wang, Wenke, Doherty, Liam, Tang, Cheng, Ren, Baiming, Zhao, Jinhui
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated carbon
Anodes
Artificial wetlands
Cathodes
Chambers
Chemical oxygen demand
Efficiency
Electric power generation
Electricity
Electricity generation
Electrodes
Embedding
Fuel cells
Fuel technology
Microorganisms
Nutrient removal
Oxidation
Oxidoreductions
Pollutants
Researchers
Sludge
Studies
Sustainability
Wastewater
Wastewater treatment
Wetlands
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the last 10 years, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been extensively studied worldwide to extract energy from wastewater via electricity generation. More recently, a merged technique of embedding MFC into a constructed wetland (CW) has been developed and appears to be increasingly investigated. The driving force to integrate these two technologies lies in the fact that CWs naturally possess a redox gradient (depending on flow direction and wetland depth), which is required by MFCs as anaerobic anode and aerobic cathode chambers. No doubt, the integration of MFC with a CW will upgrade the CW to allow it to be used for wastewater treatment and, simultaneously, electricity generation, making CWs more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Currently, published work shows that India, China, Ireland, Spain, Germany and Malaysia are involved in the development of this technology although it is in its infant stage and many technical issues are faced on system configuration, operation and maximisation of electricity production. This paper aims to provide an updated review and analysis of the CW-MFC development. Focuses are placed on the experience gained so far from different researchers in the literature and further research directions and proposals are discussed in great detail.
ISSN:0273-1223
1996-9732
DOI:10.2166/wst.2017.190