Microbial Fuel Cell-Membrane Bioreactor Integrated System for Wastewater Treatment and Bioelectricity Production: Overview

Abstract

Economic development and the related increase in global energy demands have created pressure on the supply of energy resources. To promote sustainable development, a safe and renewable energy is required. For this, wastewater contributes significantly in creating a safe environment and renewable energy. Currently, in developing countries, with the scarcities of energy, an attractive wastewater treatment technology like membrane bioreactors (MBR), which produces high-quality recyclable treated water and energy, has been proposed. However, fouling of the membrane is the main drawback of the MBR process, as it leads to a decline in the permeate flux or increase in the transmembrane pressure (TMP) with processing time, resulting in higher operating costs for membrane cleaning and eventually decreases the lifespan of membranes. This situation invites researchers to develop integrated MBR technology intended for wastewater treatment alternatives under several scenarios. A related review shows that integration of a microfuel cell (MFC) with MBR as post-treatment in wastewater treatment technologies makes it possible to accomplish good quality and extract abundant energy obtained in wastewater and future trends like MFC-MBR. An MFC-MBR (microbial fuel cell–membrane bioreactor) integrated system makes it possible to achieve better effluent and harvest the energy contained in wastewater simultaneously with different factors like reactor integration, electricity generation, and membrane fouling, and it also highlights the probable challenge and future development of MFC-MBR integrated systems in the large scale.