Biotechnological utilization of microbial processes normally starts with the discovery, investigation, and understanding of naturally occurring microbial reactions. Biomolecular tools can help us, not only to gain better understanding of protein reactions; they also enable us to influence reaction properties. For efficient practical applications, modern biological techniques allow us to tailor ...

Effects of cathode types on the long-term stability of microbial fuel cell (MFC) and the anodic microbial communities were studied using K(3)Fe(CN)(6) catholyte (R1), air cathode (R2) and biocathode (R3) over a testing time of 400 d. Upon 400 d of testing, the maximum power densities (P(max)) of R1 and R2 decreased by 44% and 37%, and the Coulombic efficiencies (CEs) decreased 8.4% (R1) and 2.0...

Microbial fuel cells have gained popularity in recent years due to its promise in converting organic wastewater into renewable electrical energy. In this study, a membrane-less MFC with a biocathode was developed to evaluate its performance in electricity generation while simultaneously treating wastewater. The MFC fed with a continuous flow of 2g/day acetate produced a power density of 30 mW/m...

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a device that generates electricity from the microbial degradation of organic and inorganic substrates. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are natural wastewater treatment systems that constitute a suitable technology for the sanitation of small communities. The synergy between MFCs and CWs is possible because of the presence of organic matter in CWs due to wastewater cha...

The continuous use of fuels like petroleum is recognized as unsustainable because of their natural exhaustion and contribution to the pollution in the environment. Not only for the environmental perspective but also for the economic sustainability, we necessarily need to develop alternative, renewable and pollution free fuels. Harvesting energy from the sun (solar energy), earth (geothermal ene...

The ability of robots to operate with minimum human intervention, independent of the energy supply, is often enough to term an agent autonomous. However, there is a clear distinction between computational ability and energy obtainment. These have already been identified as computational autonomy and energetic autonomy [1]. Battery-operated robots, for example, demonstrate computational autonomy...

The use of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in biological fuel cells limits the diversity of novel designs for increasing output power or enabling autonomous function in unique environments. Here we show that selected nanoporous polymer filters (nylon, cellulose, or polycarbonate) can be used effectively in place of PEMs in a miniature microbial fuel cell (mini-MFC, device cross-section 2 cm2),...

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been used to produce electricity from different compounds, including acetate, lactate, and glucose. We demonstrate here that it is also possible to produce electricity in a MFC from domestic wastewater, while atthe same time accomplishing biological wastewater treatment (removal of chemical oxygen demand; COD). Tests were conducted using a single chamber microbi...