Open air biocathode enables effective electricity generation with microbial fuel cells.

The reduction of oxygen at the cathode is one of the major bottlenecks of microbial fuel cells (MFCs). While research so far has mainly focused on chemical catalysis of this oxygen reduction, here we present a continuously wetted cathode with microorganisms that act as biocatalysts for oxygen reduction. We combined the anode of an acetate oxidizing tubular microbial fuel cell with an open air biocathode for electricity production.

Microbial fuel cells for sulfide removal.

Thus far, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have been used to convert carbon-based substrates to electricity. However, sulfur compounds are ubiquitously present in organic waste and wastewater. In this study, a MFC with a hexacyanoferrate cathodic electrolyte was used to convert dissolved sulfide to elemental sulfur.

Biofuel cells select for microbial consortia that self-mediate electron transfer.

Microbial fuel cells hold great promise as a sustainable biotechnological solution to future energy needs. Current efforts to improve the efficiency of such fuel cells are limited by the lack of knowledge about the microbial ecology of these systems. The purposes of this study were (i) to elucidate whether a bacterial community, either suspended or attached to an electrode, can evolve in a microbial fuel cell to bring about higher power output, and (ii) to identify species responsible for the electricity generation.