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Solvent-free algal cell lysis using fungal enzyme for enhanced lipid recovery diminishes per unit production cost of algal biodiesel. In this investigation, a triple chamber photosynthetic microbial fuel cell (PMFC) was fabricated, where positive potential was imposed in the extraction chamber to draw the negatively charged lipid ions from the cathodic chamber. Under optimum imposed potential of + 3.0 V (vs standard hydrogen electrode) and with 3.5% (v/v) dosage of fungal enzyme in to the algal consortium of cathodic chamber, a maximum of 79.0% of lipid was recovered. Additionally, enzyme-assisted de-oiled algal biomass was applied in the anodic chamber to function as substrate and mediator for exo-electrogens, and the maximum power density of 10.0 W/m 3 with 82.4% removal of chemical oxygen demand was achieved while treating synthetic wastewater. Therefore, this cost-effective exploration demonstrated successful bioelectricity production and concomitant wastewater treatment with solvent-free direct lipid recovery from wet algal biomass through PMFC., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) are a set of inventive tools that generate value-added by-products with concomitant wastewater remediation. However, due to the bottlenecks, like higher fabrication cost and inferior yield of resources, these inventive METs are still devoid of successful field-scale implementation. In this regard, application of quorum sensing (QS) mechanism to improve the power generation of the METs has gained adequate attention. The QS is an intercellular signalling mechanism that controls the bacterial social network in its vicinity via the synthesis of diffusible signal molecules labelled as auto inducers, thus ameliorating yield of valuables produced through METs. This state-of-the-art review elucidates different types of QS molecules and their working mechanism with the special focus on the widespread application of QS in the field of METs for their performance enhancement. Thus, this review intends to guide the researchers in rendering scalability to METs by integrating innovative QS mechanisms into them., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The frequent occurrence of surfactants in urban wastewaters represents a multifaceted environmental concern. In this investigation, bio-electro-Fenton-microbial fuel cell (BEF-MFC) was developed for the degradation of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) from wastewater. The synthesised cathode catalyst (powdered activated carbon and iron oxide) facilitated the Fenton reaction in the cathodic chamber of the MFC, concurrently generating a maximum power density of 105.67 mW m -2 . The overall performance of the BEF-MFC for SDS removal and power generation excelled the control MFC (C-MFC) having carbon black coated cathode under similar operating conditions. Although, the rate of SDS degradation was favourable in acidic pH, under neutral pH, 70.8 ± 6.4% of SDS degradation was achieved in 120 min in BEF-MFC. A comparison of environmental impacts of BEF-MFC with up-flow MFC and electrochemical oxidation using life cycle assessment tool suggests that BEF-MFC can be one of the promising technologies for the tertiary treatment of wastewater., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a robust technology capable of treating real wastewaters by utilizing mixed anaerobic microbiota as inoculum for producing electricity from oxidation of the biodegradable matters. However, these mixed microbiota comprises of both electroactive microorganisms (EAM) and substrate/electron scavenging microorganisms such as methanogens. Hence, in order to maximize bioelectricity from MFC, different physio-chemical techniques have been applied in past investigations to suppress activity of methanogens. Interestingly, recent investigations exhibit that methanogens can produce electricity in MFC and possess the cellular machinery like cytochrome c and Type IV pili to perform extracellular electron transfer (EET) in the presence of suitable electron acceptors. Hence, in this review, in-depth analysis of versatile behaviour of methanogens in both MFC and natural anaerobic conditions with different inhibition techniques is explored. This review also discusses the future research directions based on the latest scientific evidence on role of methanogens for EET in MFC., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Application of microbial fuel cell (MFC) is coming to the forefront as a dual-purpose system for wastewater treatment and energy recovery. Future research should emphasize on developing low-cost field-scale MFCs for removal of organic matter, nutrients, xenobiotic and recalcitrant compounds from wastewaters and powering low energy devices. For achieving this, low-cost electrodes, low-cost yet efficient cathode catalysts and proton exchange membrane (PEM) should be developed from waste-based resources to salvage the waste-derived material as much as possible, thereby reducing the fabrication cost of this device. Biochar is one such low-cost material, which has wide range of applications. This review discusses different applications of biochar in MFC, viz. in the form of standalone electrodes, electrocatalyst and material for PEM in light of different characteristics of biochar. Further emphasis is given on the future direction of research for implementation of biochar-based PEMs and electrodes in field-scale MFCs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Quorum-sensing molecules (QSMs) extracted from anaerobic sludge can help to enhance the overall productivity of algal culture, thus diminishing the per unit production cost of algae based-biofuel. In this investigation, QSMs extracted from anaerobic bacterial sludge of microbial fuel cell (MFC) was used to enhance the overall productivity of Chlorella sorokiniana cultivated in a separate bubble column photobioreactor. With the dosage of QSMs, algal biomass productivity and lipid content were increased by 2.25 times and 1.28 times, respectively. Further, lipid extracted biomass of quorum-sensing induced algae (LEB-QSA) was applied in anodic chamber of MFC to function as substrate and mediator, which enhanced the coulombic efficiency of this MFC by 74% as compared to the control MFC operated without LEB-QSA. Thus, this exploration demonstrated successful improvement in the macromolecular properties of algal culture dosed with QSMs and improved performance of MFC with the application of LEB-QSA as mediator and substrate., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this research was to develop a procedure for rapid detection of electrogenic activity of the inoculums using electrochromic tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) quantum rods, which display blue colouration under an electric field. Optimum dosage of WO 3 and sludge concentration to be used for absorbance measurement were determined to estimate electrogenic activity based on blue colouration. Performance of seven MFCs was evaluated using different volumetric ratios of mixed anaerobic sewage sludge and Shewanella putrefaciens as inoculums. Absorbance of inoculums used in MFCs was measured after addition of optimum dosage of WO 3 and a correlation is established between this absorbance and respective current densities/CE, obtained in MFCs during steady state operation. This correlation of current densities/CE with absorbance of inoculum can be used to select proper inoculum having highest electrogenic activity, and to predict possible current generation of MFCs, even before start-up, based on the electrogenic activity of inoculum used., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Morphological analysis of biofouling developed on cathode surface in an air-cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) was performed. For sustaining power production and enhancing Coulombic efficiency (CE) of MFC, studies were conducted to inhibit cathode biofouling using different loadings of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) with 5% and 10% Ag in carbon black powder. In MFC without using Ag-NPs in cathode (MFC-C), cathode biofouling increased the charge transfer resistance (Rct) from 1710Ω.cm(2) to 2409Ω.cm(2), and reduced CE by 32%; whereas in MFC with 10% Ag in cathode Rct increased by only 5%. Power density of 7.9±0.5W/m(3) in MFC using 5% Ag and 9.8±0.3W/m(3) in MFC using 10% Ag in cathode was 4.6 and 5.7-folds higher than MFC-C. These results suggest that the Ag-NPs effectively inhibit the fungal biofouling on cathode surface of MFCs and enhanced the power recovery and CE by improving cathode kinetics., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Effluent of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor was treated in a downflow rope-bed-biofilm-reactor (RBBR) to remove residual organic matter and nitrogen. Nitrogen removal was observed in phase 1 and phase 2 with and without aeration, respectively for 320days each. Organic matter, ammonia and total nitrogen removal efficiencies of 78±2%, 95±1% and 79±11% were obtained in phase 1 and 78±2%, 93±9% and 87±6% in phase 2, respectively. In phase 2, anammox bacteria had a specific anammox activity of 3.35gNm(-2)day(-1). Heme c concentration, sludge characteristics and reaction ratios of dissolved oxygen, alkalinity and pH corroborated contribution of anammox process. Using experimental results kinetic coefficients required for design of RBBR were estimated. Anammox gave more stable performance under varying nitrogen loading and this option is more sustainable for solving problem of nitrogen removal from sewage., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Loss of substrate due to methanogenesis reduces Coulombic efficiency (CE) of the microbial fuel cell (MFC) significantly. Hexadecatrienoic acid present in the marine algae Chaetoceros inhibits the growth of methanogenic archaea. Influence of Chaetoceros pre-treated mixed anaerobic sludge on the electrogenic activity of MFC was evaluated. A MFC inoculated with Chaetoceros pre-treated mixed anaerobic sludge demonstrated maximum CE of 45.18%, with volumetric power density of 21.43W/m(3) and current density of 93A/m(3). Cyclic voltammetry indicated higher electron discharge on the anode surface due to suppression of methanogenesis. Tafel analysis also showed a higher exchange current density and a lower Tafel slope and charge transfer resistance, indicating advantage of this pre-treatment method in reducing the cell internal losses. A 60% reduction in specific methanogenic activity was observed in anaerobic sludge pre-treated with Chaetoceros; emphasizing significance of this pretreatment for suppressing methanogenesis and its utility for enhancing electricity generation in MFC., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

For enhancing organic matter removal from cereal-based distillery stillage two-stage treatment consisting of fermentation by Aspergillus awamori followed by microbial fuel cell (MFC) is proposed. Considerable reduction in total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD) up to 70% and 40%, respectively, along with 98% reduction of suspended solids (SS) has been achieved during fungal pretreatment. The process generated chitosan, a useful fermentation byproduct from fungal mycelia, as 0.6-0.7g/l of settled sludge with mycelium (3.8% solids). Prior treatment of wastewater with fungal strain enhanced the power generation in MFC by 2.9 times at an organic loading rate of 1.5kgCOD/m(3)day, demonstrating soluble COD reduction of 92% in MFC. While treating distillery wastewater, this two-stage integrated biological process demonstrated overall 99% COD removal and almost complete removal of SS, delivering ample scope for scale-up and industrial application to offer effective solution for distillery wastewater treatment., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The performance of sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) was evaluated in the presence of cellulose in the aquaculture pond sediment as 2% (w/w) in SMFC-2, 4% in SMFC-3 and without adding cellulose in SMFC-1. From aquaculture water, average chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiencies of 80.6±0.3% and 83.0±0.01% were obtained in SMFC-1, 88.2±0.5% and 89.6±0.8% in SMFC-2 and 83.1±0.3% and 64.5±1.6% in SMFC-3, respectively. During the complete experimental period, acetic acid was the only short chain fatty acid detected in all three SMFCs. Sediment organic matter removal in SMFC-1, SMFC-2 and SMFC-3 were 16%, 22% and 18.6%, respectively. SMFCs demonstrated effective cellulose degradation from aquaculture pond sediment and maintained the oxidized sediment top layer favourable for aquaculture., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Effect of oxygen and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) as cathodic electron acceptors on performance of a clayware microbial fuel cell (MFC) was evaluated in this study. Maximum power density of 6.57 W/m(3) was obtained with NaOCl as catholyte, which is about 9 times higher than oxygen being used as an electron acceptor. Voltammetry and Tafel analysis further supported the faster reduction kinetics lead to increase in power output and reduction in internal resistance of MFC operated with NaOCl as an electron acceptor. Using NaOCl as catholyte, higher exchange current density of 10.91 and 11.52 mA/m(2) and lower charge transfer resistance of 0.58 and 0.56 kΩ m(2) was observed for anode and cathode, respectively. Higher organic matter removal of about 90% with 25% Coulombic efficiency was achieved using NaOCl as catholyte. Higher internal resistance, lower cathode potential and slow reduction kinetics deteriorated performance of MFC using oxygen as cathodic electron acceptor., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The catalytic activity of modified carbon powder (Vulcan XC-72R) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an air-breathing cathode of a microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been investigated. Chemical modification was carried out by using various chemicals, namely 5% nitric acid, 0.2N phosphoric acid, 0.2N potassium hydroxide and 10% hydrogen peroxide. Electrochemical study was performed for ORR of these modified carbon materials in the buffer solution pH range of 6-7.5 in the anodic compartment. Although, these treatments influenced the surface properties of the carbon material, as evident from the SEM-EDX analysis, treatment with H(2)PO(4), KOH, and H(2)O(2) did not show significant activity during the electrochemical test. The HNO(3) treated Vulcan demonstrated significant ORR activity and when used in the single-chamber MFC cathode, current densities (1115mA/m(2), at 5.6mV) greater than those for a Pt-supported un-treated carbon cathode were achieved. However, the power density for the latter was higher. Such chemically modified carbon material can be a cheaper alternative for expensive platinum catalyst used in MFC cathode construction., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

An attempt has been made to produce low cost MFC from the commercially available earthen pots in India, without involving any costly membrane. This MFC gave a maximum power output of 16.8 W/m(3) at a Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 31.3% with graphite plate cathode. With stainless steel mesh cathode and KMnO(4) as cathodic electrolyte the power production and CE of 70.48 W/m(3) and 64.5%, respectively, was obtained. The performance of this earthen pot MFC was evaluated with biotic and abiotic cathode. Although, biofilm formation on the cathode is observed to be helpful in enhancing power out put, the thicker biofilm on the cathode showed reduction in power. This MFC demonstrated competitive performance as compared to MFC incorporated with membrane. This low cost MFC, with total production cost of less than 1.0$, as per Indian market, demonstrated its utility as a wastewater treatment and onsite power generation device.

Effect of low-frequency ultrasound pre-treatment to inoculum on performance of microbial fuel cell (MFC) was evaluated. Mixed anaerobic sludge was pre-treated with ultrasonication duration of 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 15 min, and the performance of MFC using this inoculum was compared with the MFC inoculated without any pre-treatment to the sludge. The effect of combined pre-treatment, using ultrasonication and heating of the inoculum, on performance of the MFC was also evaluated. Maximum power density during polarization in a MFC inoculated with ultrasonication pre-treatment to the sludge for 5 min (40 kHz, 120 W) was 2.5 times higher than that obtained without any pre-treatment to the inoculum sludge. Substrate removal was higher in the MFC with ultrasonicated inoculum, than inoculum without any pre-treatment and combined pre-treated with ultrasonication and heating. These results evidently demonstrated the advantages of ultrasonication pre-treatment to the inoculum for enhancing power and organic matter removal of the MFC.

Performance of two dual chambered mediator-less microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was evaluated at different sludge loading rate (SLR) and feed pH. Optimum performance in terms of organic matter removal and power production was obtained at the SLR of 0.75 kg COD kg VSS(-1) d(-1). Maximum power density of 158 mW/m(2) and 600 mW/m(2) was obtained in MFC-1 (feed pH 6.0) and MFC-2 (feed pH 8.0), respectively. Internal resistance of the cell decreased with increase in SLR. When operated only with biofilm on anode, the maximum power density was 109.5 mW/m(2) in MFC-1 and 459 mW/m(2) in MFC-2, which was, respectively, 30% and 23.5% less than the value obtained in MFC-1 and MFC-2 at SLR of 0.75 kg COD kg VSS(-1) d(-1). Maximum volumetric power of 15.51 W/m(3) and 36.72 W/m(3) was obtained in MFC-1 and MFC-2, respectively, when permanganate was added as catholyte. Higher feed pH (8.0) favoured higher power production.

During field application, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) will be exposed to variations in operating parameters. Hence, the performance of MFC, exposed to variation in temperature, pH, external resistance and influent chemical oxygen demand (COD), was investigated in the terms of coulombic efficiency (CE) and COD removal efficiency, while treating a synthetic wastewater. The performance was analyzed under two temperature ranges such as 20-35 degrees C and 8-22 degrees C. Operation under higher temperature range favored higher COD removal efficiency of 90% and lower current (0.7 mA) and CE (1.5%). At lower temperature range, although the COD removal efficiency of MFC decreased (59%), it gave higher current (1.4 mA) and CE (5%). The highest current was generated at pH of 6.5 in the anodic chamber with CE of 4%. Higher pH difference between anodic and cathodic electrolyte favored higher current and voltage. Within the range of COD tested (100-600 mg/l), linear correlation was observed between the current and substrate removed.

The aim of this work was to study the influence of influent chemical oxygen demand (COD), upflow velocity of wastewater, and cationic polymer additives in inoculum, on biomass granulation and COD removal efficiency in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor for treating low strength wastewater. Statistical models were formulated based on these three variables to optimize the biomass granulation and COD removal efficiency in UASB reactors using a two-level, full factorial design. For the thick inoculum used in this study, having suspended solids (SS) >80 g/l and volatile suspended solids (VSS) to SS ratio <0.3, cationic polymer additives in the inoculum showed adverse effect on biomass granulation and COD removal efficiency. It is concluded that for such thick inoculum, granulation can be obtained while treating low strength wastewaters in UASB reactor by selecting proper combination of influent COD and liquid upflow velocity so as to represent the organic loading rate (OLR) greater than 1.0 kg COD/m(3) d. Validation of model predictions for treatment of synthetic wastewater and actual sewage reveals the efficacy of these models for enhancing granulation and COD removal efficiency.

Studies have been undertaken to explore the applicability of different kinetic models for the performance appraisal of upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors treating wastewater in the range of 300-4000 mg COD/l. Three kinetic models namely, Monod, Grau second-order, and Haldane model are considered for the analysis. Both linear and nonlinear regressions have been performed to examine the best-fit among the kinetic models. In this process, five error analysis methods have been used to analyze the data. Apart from optimization of kinetic coefficients with minimization of associated errors, prediction of effluent COD has also been undertaken to verify the applicability of kinetic models. In both the cases, Grau second-order model is found to be the best class of fit for wide range of data sets in UASB reactor.

The effect of cationic polymer additives on biomass granulation and COD removal efficiency had been examined in lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors, treating low strength synthetic wastewater (COD 300-630 mg/l). Under identical conditions, two reactors were operated with and without polymer additives in inoculum under four different organic loading rates (OLRs). The optimum polymer dose was adopted based upon the results of jar test and settling test carried out with inoculum seed sludge. With the use of thick inoculum, SS greater than 110 g/l and VSS/SS ratio less than 0.3, granulation was observed in UASB reactor treating synthetic wastewater as well as actual sewage, when OLR was greater than 1.0 kg COD/m(3) d. Polymer additive with such thick inoculum was observed to deteriorate percentage granules and COD removal efficiency compared to inoculum without polymer additives. At OLR less than 1.0 kg COD/m(3) d, proper granulation could not be achieved in both the reactors inoculated with and without polymer additive. Also, under this low loading, drastic reduction in COD removal efficiency was observed with polymer additives in inoculum. Hence, it is rational to conclude that biomass granulation for treatment of low strength biodegradable wastewater depends on the applied loading rate and selection of thick inoculum sludge.

Performance of mediator-less and membrane-less microbial fuel cell (ML-MFC) was evaluated to treat synthetic wastewater and actual sewage. The ML-MFC gave COD and BOD removal efficiencies of 88% and 87%, respectively, and TKN removal was around 45-50%. Biomass granulation was observed in the anode compartment of ML-MFC. Effect of distance between the electrodes and total surface area of anode on electricity production was evaluated under variable external resistance. Maximum power density of 10.9 and 10.13 mW/m2 was observed at lower spacing between the electrodes (20 cm) and for lesser surface area of the anode, respectively. With variation in the carbon source in the feed, variation in power production was observed.

The objective of this study was to define minimum size of bioparticles that could be classified as granules, to offer all advantages of granular sludge. Based on the theory of sedimentation, the minimum diameter bioparticles, which should be considered as granules was found out for specific gravity of sludge ranging between 1.01 and 1.05. For example, for specific gravity of 1.035 the minimum diameter of granules required for better sludge retention was 0.34 mm. The diameter based on this theory was evaluated by carrying out settling column analysis of a granular sludge obtained from lab-scale UASB reactor and verified with microscopic observation. To find out the effect of granules size on the nature of biodegradability, specific methanogenic activity (SMA) was carried out. It was observed that SMA increased with size of bioparticles tested in the range of 0.27-3.03 mm. The change in VSS/SS ratio and specific gravity was observed with size of granules. Consideration of variation in specific gravity with size of granules increased the degree of validation of sedimentation theory for the calculation of granules diameter.