Heavy metals removal by algae and usage of activated metal-enriched biomass as cathode catalyst for improving performance of photosynthetic microbial fuel cell.

Cytotoxic, malignant, and mutagenic pollutants like heavy metals have emerged as a serious global threat to the ecosystem. Additionally, the quantity of noxious metals in water bodies has increased due to expanding industrial activities and the application of incompetent wastewater treatment techniques. Owing to the benefits of eco-friendly phytoremediation, the utilization of algae in photosynthetic microbial fuel cell (PMFC) for removal of heavy metals has attracted increasing attention among researchers. Therefore, a successful fabrication and operation of a modular PMFC for simultaneous algal biomass production was exhibited, thus resulting in significant removal efficiency of Cu(II) (94 %) and Co(II) (88 %). Moreover, Co(II)-accumulated algal biochar after thermal activation was utilized as a cathode catalyst for the first time and attained 64.2 mW/m2 of power density through PMFC. Hence, this easily synthesised green cathode catalyst proved its ability to enhance the overall performance of PMFC by attaining higher power output while treating wastewater.

Application of biomimetically synthesized silver nanoparticles as cathode catalyst, quorum-quencher, and anti-biofouling agent for the performance boosting of microbial fuel cell.

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a cutting-edge bioelectrochemical technology, which demonstrates power and other valuables recovery while treating wastewater by cultivating electroactive microbes. However, rampant biofilm growth over the cathode surface of air cathode MFC exacerbates the oxidation-reduction reaction rate, triggering a dip in the overall performance of MFC. In this sense, biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have garnered a plethora of potential applications as cathode catalysts as well as anti-biofouling agent for MFCs without harming nature. The MFC equipped with the mixture of aloe vera and algae (@5 mg/cm2) synthesized AgNPs on cathode generated a maximum power density of 66.5 mW/m2 and chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency of 85.2%, which was ca. 5.6 times and 1.2 times higher compared to control MFC operated without any catalyst on cathode. Thus, this investigation paves the way for using eco-amiable, low-cost bioderived organic compounds to assist MFC in achieving high power output and other valuables with minimal reliance on chemicals.

Battery waste-derived magnetic Fe-Mn-Zn/C composites as an electro-Fenton-like catalyst for the degradation of sodium dodecyl sulfate surfactant.

A batch-scale electro-Fenton (EF) process was performed using graphite anode and waste battery-based Fe -Mn -Zn/C electrocatalyst coated on low-cost graphite felt cathode. The effectiveness of the EF's performance was evident with around 83.9 + 4.1% removal of 20 mg/L of sodium-dodecyl sulfate surfactant (SDS) at an optimum current density (CD) of 5.0 mA/cm2, Na2SO4 of 0.05 M, initial pH of 7.2, and electrolysis time of 180 min. Moreover, nearly 1.78-fold more removal of SDS was achieved in EF than in the electro-oxidation process operated without any catalyst. The operating cost of 0.35 $ of per m3 per order was needed to treat SDS wastewater. The remediation of SDS follows pseudo-first-order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.0095 min-1. Additionally, 90.3 + 2.1% of SDS and 57 + 2.6% of total organic carbon (TOC) removal was attained during 240 min of treatment time in secondary treated real wastewater; hence, additional 60 min of treatment time is required for effectively treating real wastewater than synthetic wastewater. Thus, EF is effective with battery waste-derived magnetic catalyst for treating wastewater containing SDS, which can lead to achieving sustainable environmental goals.

Insights into the performance of binary heterojunction photocatalysts for degradation of refractory pollutants.

The uncontrolled discharge of industry- and consumer-derived micropollutants and synthetic contaminants into freshwater bodies represents a severe threat to human health and aquatic ecosystem. Inexpensive and highly efficient wastewater treatment methods are, therefore, urgently required to eliminate such non-biodegradable, recalcitrant, and toxic organic pollutants. In this context, advanced oxidation processes, particularly heterogenous photocatalysis, have received enormous attention over the past few decades. Among the different classes of photocatalysts explored by the scientific community, heterojunction photocatalysts, in general, and binary heterojunction photocatalysts, in particular, have shown tremendous promise, attributed to their many distinct advantages. As such, the present review highlights the application of diverse array of binary heterojunction photocatalysts for eliminating water-borne contaminants. Specifically, a bibliometric analysis has been conducted to identify the ongoing research trend and future prospects of heterojunction photocatalysts. It appears that metal oxide/metal oxide-based heterojunctions have superior thermal and mechanical stability compared to other heterojunction photocatalysts. In contrast, metal oxide/non-metal semiconductor-based heterojunctions are extremely effective in pollutant degradation without significant leaching of metal ions. The review concludes by proposing novel strategic research guidelines in order to make further advances in this rapidly evolving cross-disciplinary field of topical interest.

3D electro-Fenton augmented with iron-biochar particle electrodes derived from waste iron bottle caps and sugarcane bagasse for the remediation of sodium dodecyl sulphate.

The present work demonstrates a novel strategy of synthesizing iron-biochar (Fe@BCSB) composite made with the waste iron bottle cap and sugar cane bagasse for implementation in the three-dimensional electro-Fenton (3DEF) process. The catalytic ability of the Fe@BCSB composite was explored to remediate the sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) surfactant from wastewater at neutral pH. At the optimum operating condition of Fe@BCSB dose of 1.0 g L-1, current density of 4.66 mA cm-2, and Na2SO4 dose of 50 mM, nearly 92.7 ± 3.1% of 20 mg L-1 of SDS abatement was attained during 120 min of electrolysis time. Moreover, the Fe@BCSB showed significant recyclability up to six cycles. Besides, other organics were successfully treated with more than 85% abatement efficiency in the proposed Fe@BCSB-supported 3DEF process. The total operating cost obtained during SDS treatment was around 0.31 US$ m-3 of wastewater. The phytotoxicity test revealed the positive impact of the 3DEF-treated effluent on the germination of the Vigna radiata. The electron paramagnetic resonance conveyed •OH as the prevailing reactive species for the oxidation of SDS in the 3DEF process. Further, about 81.3 ± 3.8% of SDS and 53.7 ± 4.1% of mineralization efficacy were acquired from the real institutional sewage.

Engineered nanomaterials for carbon capture and bioenergy production in microbial electrochemical technologies: A review.

The mounting threat of global warming, fuelled by industrialization and anthropogenic activities, is undeniable. In 2017, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary greenhouse gas, exceeded 410 ppm for the first time. Shockingly, on April 28, 2023, this figure surged even higher, reaching an alarming 425 ppm. Even though extensive research has been conducted on developing efficient carbon capture and storage technologies, most suffer from high costs, short lifespans, and significant environmental impacts. Recently, the use of engineered nanomaterials (ENM), particularly in microbial electrochemical technologies (METs), has gained momentum owing to their appropriate physicochemical properties and catalytic activity. By implementing ENM, the MET variants like microbial electrosynthesis (MES) and photosynthetic microbial fuel cells (pMFC) can enhance carbon capture efficiency with simultaneous bioenergy production and wastewater treatment. This review provides an overview of ENMs' role in carbon capture within MES and pMFC, highlighting advancements and charting future research directions.

One-step calcination synthesis of 2D/2D g-C3N4/WS2 van der Waals heterojunction for visible light-induced photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants.

It is well-documented that accumulation of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), such as antibiotics, in aquatic ecosystems is a prominent environmental hazard. Herein, a series of 2D materials-based heterojunctions, conceptualized based on the integration of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with tungsten disulfide (WS2), was fabricated through a facile one-step calcination process, and systematically evaluated for eliminating tetracycline (TC) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from aqueous matrices. The microstructure, optical properties, and surface chemistry of the as-prepared composites were examined with a range of microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. In comparison with pristine g-C3N4 or bare WS2, the g-C3N4/WS2 material, with optimal WS2 loading, showed significantly improved photocatalytic activity, towards degradation of TC (84%) and SMX (96%), under visible light. Free radical scavenging experiments revealed that superoxide anions and hydroxyl radicals were predominantly responsible for the rapid breakdown of the PhACs. In addition, the dissociation intermediates and residues were identified and the plausible photocatalytic degradation pathways of TC and SMX over the as-constructed 2D/2D heterojunction were discussed. Further, the photocatalysis end products were non-toxic, as inferred via the resazurin cell viability assay, employing Escherichia coli as a model organism. Most importantly, the 2D/2D g-C3N4/WS2 architecture was structurally resilient and exhibited a fairly stable cycling performance for persistent usage in wastewater treatment. The outcomes of this study testify that 2D/2D heterojunction of g-C3N4 fragments and WS2 nanosheets holds great promise for destroying antibiotics or their metabolites, usually present in wastewaters.

A review on the scope of remediating chlorinated paraffin contaminated water bodies and soils/sediments.

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) involve a wide range of complex mixtures of chlorinated alkanes. The versatility of their physicochemical properties and their wide range of use has turned them into ubiquitous materials. This review covers the scope of remediating CP-contaminated water bodies and soil/sediments via thermal, photolytic, photocatalytic, nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI), microbial and plant-based remediation techniques. Thermal treatments above 800 °C can lead to almost 100 % degradation of CPs by forming chlorinated polyaromatic hydrocarbons and thus should be supported with appropriate pollution control measures leading to high operational and maintenance costs. The hydrophobic nature of CPs lowers their water solubility and reduces their subsequent photolytic degradation. However, photocatalysis can have considerably higher degradation efficiency and generates mineralized end products. The NZVI also showed promising CP removal efficiency, especially at lower pH, which is challenging to achieve during field application. CPs can also be bioremediated by introducing both naturally occurring bacteria and also by engineered bacterial strains which are capable of producing specific enzymes (like LinA2 and LinB) to catalyze CP degradation. Depending on the type of CP, bioremediation can even achieve a dechlorination efficiency of >90 %. Moreover, enhanced degradation rates can be achieved through biostimulation. Phytoremediation has also exhibited CP bioaccumulation and transformation tendencies, both at lab-scale and in field-scale studies. The future research scope can include developing more definitive analytical techniques, toxicity and risk assessment studies of CPs and their degradation products, and technoeconomic and environmental assessment of different remediation approaches.

Reactive extraction of lactic and acetic acids from leached bed reactor leachate and process optimization by response surface methodology.

The present work focused on extracting lactic and acetic acids from the leachate collected from leached bed reactor (LBR) during acidogenesis of food waste using the reactive extraction (RE) process. A wide range of diluents was screened either alone by physical extraction (PE) or in combination with extractants using RE to extract acids from the VFA mix. Aliquat 336-Butyl acetate/MIBK extractants in RE demonstrated higher distribution coefficients (k) and extraction yield (E %) than PE. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the extraction of lactic and acetic acids from the synthetic acid mix, using three variables (extractant concentrations, solute/acid concentration and time). Consequently, these three variables were optimized for LBR leachate. The RE was promising, and extraction efficiencies of 65% (lactate), 75% (acetate), 86.2% (propionate) and almost 100% for butyrate and medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) were achieved after 16 h of extraction. The RSM optimization predicted a maximum E % of 59.60% and 34.67% for lactate and acetate in 5.5 and 1.17 min, respectively. In the leachate experiment, an increase in E% and k was observed with increasing extractant concentration and lactate and acetate concentrations over time. Using a 1M reactive extractant mix and 1.25 and 12 g/L of solute concentrations, the maximum E % of acetate and lactate were 38.66% and 61.8% in 10 min. The results could contribute to developing a rapid in-situ product recovery system integrated with food waste acidogenesis for lactate and acetate recovery, contributing to the bio-economy.

Efficient upcycling of iron scrap and waste polyethylene terephthalate plastic into Fe3O4@C incorporated MIL-53(Fe) as a novel electro-Fenton catalyst for the degradation of salicylic acid.

The current research demonstrates the efficiency of a low-cost MIL-53(Fe)-metal-organic framework (MOF) derived Fe3O4@C (MIL-53(Fe)@Fe3O4@C) electrocatalyst in a batch-scale electro-Fenton (EF) process for the degradation of salicylic acid (SA) from wastewater. The electrocatalyst was prepared from the combination of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and iron scrap wastes. The result showed 91.68 ± 3.61% degradation of 50 mg L-1 of SA under optimum current density of 5.2 mA cm-2, and pH of 7.0 during 180 min of electrolysis time. The degradation of SA from waste catalyst was similar to the chemical-based MIL-53(Fe)-derived Fe3O4@C (cFe) cathode catalyst. The presence of chloride ions (Cl-) in the water matrix has shown a strong inhibitory effect on the elimination of SA, followed by nitrate (NO3-), and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ions. The multiple cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis and reusability test of waste cathode catalyst showed only 8.03% drop of current density at the end of the 20th cycle and 5% drop of degradation efficiency after 6th cycle with low leaching of iron. The radical scavenging experiment revealed that the HO• generated via electrochemical generation of H2O2 had a prominent contribution in the removal of SA compared to HO2•/O2•-. Besides, possible catalysis mechanism and degradation pathways were deduced. Furthermore, a satisfactory performance in the treatment of SA spiked in real water matrices was also observed by waste-derived Fe3O4@C cathode catalyst (wFe). Additionally, the total operating cost and toxicity analysis showed that the as-synthesized wFe cathode catalyst could be appropriate for removing organic pollutants from wastewater in the large-scale application.

Progress and perspectives on microbial electrosynthesis for valorisation of CO2 into value-added products.

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is a neoteric technology that facilitates biocatalysed synthesis of organic compounds with the aid of homoacetogenic bacteria, while feeding CO2 as an inorganic carbon source. Operating MES with surplus renewable electricity further enhances the sustainability of this innovative bioelectrochemical system (BES). However, several lacunae exist in the domain knowledge, stunting the widespread application of MES. Despite significant progress in this area over the past decade, the product yield efficiency is not on par with other contemporary technologies. This bottleneck can be overcome by adopting a holistic approach, i.e., applying innovative and integrated solutions to ensure a robust MES operation. Further, the widespread deployment of MES exclusively relies on its ability to mature a sessile biofilm over a biocompatible electrode, while offering minimal charge transfer resistance. Additionally, operating MES preferably at H2-generating reduction potential and valorising industrial off-gas as carbon substrate is crucial to accomplish economic sustainability. In light of the aforementioned, this review collates the latest progress in the design and development of MES-centred systems for valorisation of CO2 into value-added products. Specifically, it highlights the significance of inoculum pre-treatment for promoting biocatalytic activity and biofilm growth on the cathodic surface. In addition, it summarizes the diverse materials that are commonly used as electrodes in MES, with an emphasis on the importance of inexpensive, robust, and biocompatible electrode materials for the practical application of MES technology. Further, the review presents insights into media conditions, operational factors, and reactor configurations that affect the overall performance of MES process. Finally, the product range of MES, downstream processing requirements, and integration of MES with other environmental remediation technologies are also discussed.

Evaluating application of photosynthetic microbial fuel cell to exhibit efficient carbon sequestration with concomitant value-added product recovery from wastewater: A review.

The emission of CO2 from industrial (24%) and different anthropogenic activities, like transportation (27%), electricity production (25%), and agriculture (11%), can lead to global warming, which in the long term can trigger substantial climate changes. In this regard, CO2 sequestration and wastewater treatment in tandem with bioenergy production through photosynthetic microbial fuel cell (PMFC) is an economical and sustainable intervention to address the problem of global warming and elevating energy demands. Therefore, this review focuses on the application of different PMFC as a bio-refinery approach to produce biofuels and power generation accompanied with the holistic treatment of wastewater. Moreover, CO2 bio-fixation and electron transfer mechanism of different photosynthetic microbiota, and factors affecting the performance of PMFC with technical feasibility and drawbacks are also elucidated in this review. Also, low-cost approaches such as utilization of bio-membrane like coconut shell, microbial growth enhancement by extracellular cell signalling mechanisms, and exploitation of genetically engineered strain towards the commercialization of PMFC are highlighted. Thus, the present review intends to guide the budding researchers in developing more cost-effective and sustainable PMFCs, which could lead towards the commercialization of this inventive technology.

Advanced oxidation processes: Performance, advantages, and scale-up of emerging technologies.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are promising technologies for partial or complete mineralization of contaminants of emerging concern by highly reactive hydroxyl, hydroperoxyl, superoxide, and sulphate radicals. Detailed investigations and reviews have been reported for conventional AOP systems that have been installed in full-scale wastewater treatment plants. However, recent efforts have focused on the peroxymonosulphate, persulphate, catalytic ozonation, ultrasonication and hydrodynamic cavitation, gamma radiation, electrochemical oxidation, modified Fenton, and plasma-assisted AOPs. This critical review presents the detailed mechanisms of emerging AOP technologies, their performance for treatment of contaminants of emerging concern, the relative advantages and disadvantages of each technology, and the remaining challenges to scale-up and implementation. Among the evaluated technologies, the modified electrochemical oxidation, gamma radiation, and plasma-assisted systems demonstrated the greatest potential for successful and sustainable implementation in wastewater treatment due to their environmental safety, compatibility, and efficient transformation of contaminants of emerging concern by a variety of reactive species. The other emerging AOP systems were also promising, but additional scale-up trials and a deeper understanding of their reaction kinetics in complex wastewater matrices are necessary to determine the technical and economic feasibility of full-scale processes.

Efficacious bioremediation of heavy metals and radionuclides from wastewater employing aquatic macro- and microphytes.

Cytotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic contaminants, such as heavy metals and radionuclides, have become an alarming environmental concern globally, especially for developed and developing nations. Moreover, inefficient prevalent wastewater treatment technologies combined with increased industrial activity and modernization has led to increase in the concentration of toxic metals and radioactive components in the natural water bodies. However, for the improvement of ecosystem of rivers, lakes, and other water sources different physicochemical methods such as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, activated carbon adsorption, electrocoagulation, and other electrochemical treatment are employed, which are uneconomical and insufficient for the complete abatement of these emerging pollutants. Therefore, the application of bioremediation employing aquatic macrophytes and microphytes have gained considerable importance owing to the benefits of cost-effectiveness, eco-friendly, and higher energy efficiency. Thus, the present review aims to enlighten the readers on the potential application of algae, cyanobacteria, plant, and other aquatic micro- and macrophytes for the elimination of carcinogenic metals and radioactive isotopes from wastewater. Additionally, the use of transgenic plants, genetically modified species, algal-bacterial symbiosis for the enhancement of removal efficiency of mutagenic contaminants are also highlighted. Furthermore, species selection based on robustness, mechanism of different pathways for heavy metal and radionuclide detoxification are elucidated in this review article.

Two-phase anaerobic digestion of food waste: Effect of semi-continuous feeding on acidogenesis and methane production.

In present investigation, effect of diverting acidogenic off-gas from leached bed reactor (LBR) to up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor during semi-continuous food waste (FW) anaerobic digestion was evaluated. In test LBR headspace pressure (3.3 psi) was maintained with intermittent headspace gas transfer into UASB. In control, same headspace pressure was maintained without gas transfer. The semi-continuous FW addition affected the characteristics and production of leachate in control and test LBR. The cumulative COD, total soluble products and methane yields were 1.26, 1.37 and 3 times higher in the test LBR than the control. The acetate and methane yields from test LBR were 697.8 g·kgVSadded-1 and 167.55 mL·gCOD-1feeding. Acidogenic gas transfer maintained low partial pressure of hydrogen and the hydrogen to carbon-di-oxide ratio in the headspace of LBR, which were thermodynamically favorable for microbial metabolism and concomitant high-rate production of acetate-rich volatile fatty acid and methane-rich biogas from FW.

Effectiveness of constructed wetland integrated with microbial fuel cell for domestic wastewater treatment and to facilitate power generation.

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have gained a lot of attention for wastewater treatment due to robustness and natural pollutant mitigation characteristics. This widely acknowledged technology possesses enough merits to derive direct electricity in collaboration with microbial fuel cell (MFC), thus taking advantage of microbial metabolic activities in the anoxic zone of CWs. In the present study, two identical lab-scale CWs were selected, each having 56 L capacity. One of the CW integrated with MFC (CW-MFC) contains two pairs of electrodes, i.e., carbon felt and graphite plate. The first pair of CW-MFC consists of a carbon felt cathode with a graphite plate anode, and the second pair contains a graphite plate cathode with a carbon felt anode. The other CW was not integrated with MFC and operated as a traditional CW for evaluating the performance. CW-MFC and CW were operated in continuous up-flow mode with a hydraulic retention time of 3 days and at different organic loading rates (OLRs) per unit surface area, such as 1.45 g m-2 day-1 (OLR-1), 2.43 g m-2 day-1 (OLR-2), and 7.25 g m-2 day-1 (OLR-3). The CW-MFC was able to reduce the organic matter, phosphate, and total nitrogen by 92%, 93%, and 70%, respectively, at OLR of 1.45 g m-2 day-1, which was found to be higher than that obtained in conventional CW. With increase in electrochemical redox activities, the second pair of electrodes made way for 3 times higher power density of 16.33 mW m-2 as compared to the first pair of electrodes in CW-MFC (5.35 mW m-2), asserting carbon felt as a good anode material to be used in CW-MFC. The CW-MFC with carbon felt as an anode material is proposed to improve the electro-kinetic activities for scalable applications to achieve efficient domestic wastewater treatment and electricity production.

A review on environmental occurrence, toxicity and microbial degradation of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs).

In recent years, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) have surfaced as a novel class of pollutants due to their incomplete degradation in wastewater treatment plants and their inherent ability to promote physiological predicaments in humans even at low doses. The occurrence of the most common NSAIDs (diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen) in river water, groundwater, finished water samples, WWTPs, and hospital wastewater effluents along with their toxicity effects were reviewed. The typical concentrations of NSAIDs in natural waters were mostly below 1 µg/L, the rivers receiving untreated wastewater discharge have often showed higher concentrations, highlighting the importance of effective wastewater treatment. The critical analysis of potential, pathways and mechanisms of microbial degradation of NSAIDs were also done. Although studies on algal and fungal strains were limited, several bacterial strains were known to degrade NSAIDs. This microbial ability is attributed to hydroxylation by cytochrome P450 because of the decrease in drug concentrations in fungal cultures of Phanerochaete sordida YK-624 on incubation with 1-aminobenzotriazole. Moreover, processes like decarboxylation, dehydrogenation, dechlorination, subsequent oxidation, demethylation, etc. also constitute the degradation pathways. A wide array of enzymes like dehydrogenase, oxidoreductase, dioxygenase, monooxygenase, decarboxylase, and many more are upregulated during the degradation process, which indicates the possibility of their involvement in microbial degradation. Specific hindrances in upscaling the process along with analytical research needs were also identified, and novel investigative approaches for future monitoring studies are proposed.

Microbial fuel cell performance of graphitic carbon functionalized porous polysiloxane based ceramic membranes.

Proton-conducting porous ceramic membranes were synthesized via a polymer-derived ceramic route and probed in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). Their chemical compositions were altered by adding carbon allotropes including graphene oxide (GO) and multiwall carbon nanotubes into a polysiloxane matrix as filler materials. Physical characteristics of the synthesized membranes such as porosity, hydrophilicity, mechanical stability, ion exchange capacity, and oxygen mass transfer coefficient were determined to investigate the best membrane material for further testing in MFCs. The ion exchange capacity of the membrane increased drastically after adding 0.5 wt% of GO at an increment of 9 fold with respect to that of the non-modified ceramic membrane, while the oxygen mass transfer coefficient of the membrane decreased by 52.6%. The MFC operated with this membrane exhibited a maximum power density of 7.23 W m-3 with a coulombic efficiency of 28.8%, which was significantly higher than the value obtained using polymeric Nafion membrane. Hence, out of all membranes tested in this study the GO-modified polysiloxane based ceramic membranes are found to have a potential to replace Nafion membranes in pilot scale MFCs.

Architectural adaptations of microbial fuel cells.

Conventional wastewater treatment consumes a large amount of money worldwide for removal of pollutants prior to its discharge into water body or facilitating reuse. Decreasing energy expenditure during wastewater treatment and rather recovering some value-added products while treating wastewater is an important goal for researchers. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are representative bioelectrochemical systems, which offer energy-efficient wastewater treatment. MFCs convert chemical energy of organic matter into electrical energy by using biocatalytic activities. Although MFCs are not truly commercialized, they have potential to make energy-gaining wastewater treatment technologies and represent their capabilities successfully. Over the last decade, MFCs have developed remarkably in almost every dimension including wastewater treatment capabilities, power output, and cost optimization; however, its architectural design is an important consideration for scaling up. Here, we review various architectural advancements and technology up-gradation MFCs have experienced during its journey, to take this technology step forward for commercialization.

Novel Sulfonated Co-poly(ether imide)s Containing Trifluoromethyl, Fluorenyl and Hydroxyl Groups for Enhanced Proton Exchange Membrane Properties: Application in Microbial Fuel Cell.

A hydroxyl group containing new cardo diamine monomer was synthesized, namely 9,9-bis (hydroxy- (4'-amino(3-trifluoromethyl)biphenyl-4-oxy)-phenyl)-9H-fluorene (mixture of isomers, HAPHPF). HAPHPF, along with a sulfonated diamine monomer, 4,4'-diaminostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DSDSA), was used to prepare a series of new sulfonated copolyimides by polycondensation with 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTDA). The degree of sulfonation (DS < 1) was adjusted by the feed ratio of DSDSA/HAPHPF and the copolymers were named as DHN-XX, where XX denotes the mole percentage of DSDSA (XX = 50, 60, and 70). The copolymers showed high molecular weights. The copolymer structure and composition were confirmed by FTIR and NMR techniques. Copolymer membranes were prepared through solution cast route by using dimethyl sulfoxide as a solvent. The membranes showed high thermal, mechanical, hydrolytic and peroxide radical stability, and low water uptake and low swelling ratios. Well-separated hydrophilic and hydrophobic phase morphology was observed in TEM and AFM images of the copolymer membranes and was further supported by the SAXS studies. The proton conductivity of the DHN-70 was as high as 97 mS cm-1 at 80 °C and the value is significantly higher than that of the nonhydroxylated analogue. The membranes also showed superior microbial fuel cell (MFC) performance, similar like Nafion 117 under similar test conditions. The chemical oxygen demand removal values provide substantial evidence that the fabricated membranes can be utilized in bioelectrochemical systems.