Issue 21, 2007

Anodic electron transfer mechanisms in microbial fuel cells and their energy efficiency

Abstract

The performance of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) depends on a complex system of parameters. Apart from technical variables like the anode or fuel cell design, it is mainly the paths and mechanisms of the bioelectrochemical energy conversion that decisively determine the MFC power and energy output. Here, the electron transfer from the microbial cell to the fuel cell anode, as a process that links microbiology and electrochemistry, represents a key factor that defines the theoretical limits of the energy conversion. The determination of the energy efficiency of the electron transfer reactions, based on the biological standard potentials of the involved redox species in combination with the known paths (and stoichiometry) of the underlying microbial metabolism, is an important instrument for this discussion. Against the sometimes confusing classifications of MFCs in literature it is demonstrated that the anodic electron transfer is always based on one and the same background: the exploitation of the necessity of every living cell to dispose the electrons liberated during oxidative substrate degradation.

Graphical abstract: Anodic electron transfer mechanisms in microbial fuel cells and their energy efficiency

Article information

Article type
Invited Article
Submitted
09 Mar 2007
Accepted
11 Apr 2007
First published
09 May 2007

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2007,9, 2619-2629

Anodic electron transfer mechanisms in microbial fuel cells and their energy efficiency

U. Schröder, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2007, 9, 2619 DOI: 10.1039/B703627M

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements