title: Performance and recent improvement in microbial fuel cells for simultaneous carbon and nitrogen removal: A review.
abstract: Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have become a promising technology for wastewater treatment accompanying electricity generation. Carbon and nitrogen removal can be achieved by utilizing the electron transfer between the anode and cathode in an MFC. However, large-scale power production and high removal efficiency must be achieved at a low cost to make MFCs practical and economically competitive in the future. This article reviews the principles, feasibility and bottlenecks of MFCs for simultaneous carbon and nitrogen removal, the recent advances and prospective strategies for performance improvement, as well as the involved microbes and electron transfer mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Haishu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Shengjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. Electronic address: gqzhuang@rcees.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Guoqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Xuliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhuang
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D002244:Carbon / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004566:Electrodes; D004579:Electron Transport; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Electricity generation; Electron transfer; Microbial fuel cells; Simultaneous carbon and nitrogen removal; Wastewater treatment