Conjugation of Nanomaterials
and Bioanodes for Energy Production
in Microbial Fuel Cell
Ambika Arkatkar, Arvind Kumar Mungray and Preeti Sharma
Abstract The term nanotechnology is popularized for the study of small particles
with unique properties. Nanoparticles are widely studied for their use in the medicinal
field. The application of these tiny particles in the abiotic world of energy generation
is also acceptable. The use of surface enhancement property of nanomaterials can
be applied in the field of biotic energy generation and simultaneous waste treatment
technology. The two goals are targeted under microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology.
The MFC reactors can be added as one major area for application of nanoparticles.
This chapter will deal with the basic idea of MFC and its limitation. We will further
understand the use of nanoparticles as a solution for power enhancement in an MFC
reactor.
Keywords Nanoparticles · Microbial fuel cell · Anode · Power enhancement
1 Introduction of MFC
The day by day depletion of nonrenewable source of energy has become a prime
concern for the world economy. The renewable sources of energy are not abundantly
available in all parts of the world throughout the year. The voluminous generation of
waste is another parameter bothering the safe survival of animal and plant kingdom
on earth. The scientific community has now shifted its focus toward developing a
technology that can simultaneously target the two big issues as stated above.
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is emerging as an alternative method for
waste treatment and up to some extent a system that can generate power. The technology holds its roots in 1910–1911 (Bullen et al. 2006; Franks and Nevin 2010) when
it was discovered that few microbes can give out electrons which can be captured to
generate power. The research then again gained its momentum in the early twentieth
A. Arkatkar · A. K. Mungray (B)
Department of Chemical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhabhai National Institute of Technology,
Surat 395007, India
e-mail: amungray@yahoo.com
A. Arkatkar · P. Sharma
Department of Biotechnology, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat 395007, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Ledwani and J. S. Sangwai (eds.), Nanotechnology for Energy and Environmental
Engineering, Green Energy and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33774-2_7
169
and Bioanodes for Energy Production
in Microbial Fuel Cell
Ambika Arkatkar, Arvind Kumar Mungray and Preeti Sharma
Abstract The term nanotechnology is popularized for the study of small particles
with unique properties. Nanoparticles are widely studied for their use in the medicinal
field. The application of these tiny particles in the abiotic world of energy generation
is also acceptable. The use of surface enhancement property of nanomaterials can
be applied in the field of biotic energy generation and simultaneous waste treatment
technology. The two goals are targeted under microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology.
The MFC reactors can be added as one major area for application of nanoparticles.
This chapter will deal with the basic idea of MFC and its limitation. We will further
understand the use of nanoparticles as a solution for power enhancement in an MFC
reactor.
Keywords Nanoparticles · Microbial fuel cell · Anode · Power enhancement
1 Introduction of MFC
The day by day depletion of nonrenewable source of energy has become a prime
concern for the world economy. The renewable sources of energy are not abundantly
available in all parts of the world throughout the year. The voluminous generation of
waste is another parameter bothering the safe survival of animal and plant kingdom
on earth. The scientific community has now shifted its focus toward developing a
technology that can simultaneously target the two big issues as stated above.
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is emerging as an alternative method for
waste treatment and up to some extent a system that can generate power. The technology holds its roots in 1910–1911 (Bullen et al. 2006; Franks and Nevin 2010) when
it was discovered that few microbes can give out electrons which can be captured to
generate power. The research then again gained its momentum in the early twentieth
A. Arkatkar · A. K. Mungray (B)
Department of Chemical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhabhai National Institute of Technology,
Surat 395007, India
e-mail: amungray@yahoo.com
A. Arkatkar · P. Sharma
Department of Biotechnology, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat 395007, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
L. Ledwani and J. S. Sangwai (eds.), Nanotechnology for Energy and Environmental
Engineering, Green Energy and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33774-2_7
169