Applications of Microbes in Electric Generation

With the aggravation of environmental pollution and energy crisis, the society demands for green and ecological economics in the future. In recent years, the progress of nanotechnologies has provided technical support for the development of new energy. Under this background, microbial fuel cell, as a new kind of energy conversion and storage devices, can convert chemical energy in the organic matters into electrical energy with the assistance of microorganisms. Microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature. During the electricity generation process conducted by microorganisms, pollutants can be treated at the same time. For example, the synergistic effect between nanoirons and microorganisms can improve the treatment effect of nitrogen and phosphorus existed in wastewater. In addition, microbial fuel cell also has other applications in life, such as waste degradation, human self-powered sensors, and so on. Nanotechnologies have provided a new strategy for the preparation of cathode and anode electrode materials with controllable structure and performance to enhance the performance and stability of microbial fuel cell. However, there are still several shortcomings in the development of microbial fuel cell, such as low power density and poor stability, which need to be solved in the future. This chapter will focus on the working principle and classification of microbial fuel cell, the construction and application of nanomaterials in the microbial fuel cell electrodes, and introduce the research hotspots and development tendency in this field systematically.