Introduction
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bioreactors that convert chemical energy stored in the bonds of organic matters
into electricity through biocatalysis of microorganisms (Potter, 1911; Cohen, 1931; Davis and Yarbrough, 1962;
Moon et al., 2006). The schematic of a typical MFC is shown in Fig. 1. In the sketch below, the anodic and
cathodic chamber are separated by a proton exchange membrane (PEM) (Wilkinson, 2000; Gil et al., 2003) that
allows transport protons while blocking oxygen and other compounds. Microbes in the anodic chamber degrade
organic matters and produce electrons, protons and carbon dioxide. Electrons and protons produced by microbes
are then transported to the cathodic chamber via external circuit and a proton exchange membrane (PEM),
respectively. In the cathodic chamber, protons and electrons react with oxygen to form water. Because the
terminal electron acceptor (i.e., oxygen) is kept away from the anodic chamber, electrons are allowed to pass
through the external load to generate electricity (Du et al., 2007).
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