Review selection criteria of microbial fuel cell types and applications

The world's energy consumption has increased enormously due to increase in energy demand, therefore research is focused on alternate eco-friendly energy sources. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bioelectrochemical device that transposes the chemical energy present in organic and inorganic compounds into electricity by using microorganism as biocatalysts. The major classification of MFC is based on design/construction such as single chambered, double chambered, up flow and stacked cell; parameters affect the function of a cell such as substrate mediator, inoculum, membrane and electrode design, microorganisms in aqueous medium and as biofilm at electrode. The applications of MFCs are bioelectric and biohydrogen generation, industrial effluent/wastewater treatment, bioremediation of toxic compounds and biosensors. The major advantage of MFC is generation of electricity at low temperature which significantly helps to reduce the pollution for creating clean environment. The major obstacles are microorganism culture, high cost of electro catalyst and membrane. This review elaborately discusses on selection criteria to choose right kind of MFC for specific application.