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Influence of Nanomaterials in Combined Microbial Fuel Cell-Electro-Fenton Systems as a Sustainable Alternative for Electricity Generation and Wastewater Treatment

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Innovations in Environmental Biotechnology

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Abstract

The supply of energy from sources other than conventional ones and the pollution of aquatic bodies are global problems. Combined microbial fuel cell (MFC) and electro-Fenton (EF) systems are an emerging alternative that includes bioenergy production, which can use to drive the EF process toward the elimination of pollutants present in wastewater, avoiding the energy expenditure that would be incurred if only the EF process were carried out. This chapter shows MFC, EF, and MFC-EF’s fundamentals, emphasizing the nanomaterials developed so far for their use as anodes and cathodes in MFC-EF systems, mainly carbon-based. In the specific case, the anodic electrodes, the porosity significantly influences on the biofilm’s adhesion to its surface and on electron’s transfer, guaranteeing that the EF process is carried out. The most used nanomaterials are carbon nanotubes and graphene in cathode due to their large specific surface area and electrical conductivity. Likewise, the solid iron promoters of nanometric size are recently reported and incorporated into the medium or as cathode modifiers. Finally, it included a cost/benefit analysis according to the maintenance of microorganisms, preparation of electrodes, and their useful life, cell design, and the mineralization of pollutants. The limitations, advantages, and areas of an opportunity of the MFC-EF systems that can become in the future a versatile and dominant technology for the generation of bioenergy and the elimination of pollutants in wastewater pointed out.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Cátedras-CONACYT program and the Center for Research and Technological Development in Electrochemistry for the facilities provided for the development of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CONACYT-Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico en Electroquímica, CIDETEQ, Pedro Escobedo, Querétaro, México

    Carolina Martínez-Sánchez & Antonia Sandoval-González

  2. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico en Electroquímica, CIDETEQ, Pedro Escobedo, Querétaro, México

    Erika Bustos Bustos

Authors
  1. Carolina Martínez-Sánchez
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  2. Erika Bustos Bustos
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  3. Antonia Sandoval-González
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Correspondence to Antonia Sandoval-González .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Dr. B. Lal Institute of Biotechnology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

    Sudipti Arora

  2. Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

    Ashwani Kumar

  3. Department of Local Resources and Department of Life Sciences, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan

    Shinjiro Ogita

  4. Department of Natural Sciences, Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, OK, USA

    Yuan- Yeu Yau

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Martínez-Sánchez, C., Bustos, E.B., Sandoval-González, A. (2022). Influence of Nanomaterials in Combined Microbial Fuel Cell-Electro-Fenton Systems as a Sustainable Alternative for Electricity Generation and Wastewater Treatment. In: Arora, S., Kumar, A., Ogita, S., Yau, Y.Y. (eds) Innovations in Environmental Biotechnology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4445-0_28

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