Introduction:

In present Scenario, Energy demands and waste water process are the major problem.

Every year hundreds of billions of gallons of untreated sewage flow into our rivers, lakes,
and coastal waters. Unknowingly, many humans and their loved ones risk serious illness
when untreated sewage seeps into the water they use for recreation or drinking. The EPA
estimates that up to 3.5 million people fall ill from swimming in waters contaminated by
sanitary sewer overflows alone ever year. However, the number of illnesses caused by raw
sewage could be much higher than we think. Many people those get sick from untreated
sewage aren’t aware of the cause of their illness and don’t report it to their doctors or local
health officials. Sewage pollutants are capable of causing gastrointestinal disorders with virus
implicated as cause. Shellfish strain water through their gills to trap microscopic plants and
animals for food. If the water was contaminated with disease-causing bacteria, these could be
consumed as food by shellfish. When eaten raw or partially cooked, these shellfish can make
people sick. Certain fish in contaminated waters can accumulate high levels of toxic substances.
When these foods are consumed frequently over a lifetime, they may increase the consumers’
risk of adverse health effects. Detergents can cause liver and kidney damage, while sewage water
carries diseases such as Giardiasis, Amoebic dysentery and Cholera.

Trapping renewable energy from waste organic sources is the present trend of active research. In
this direction, bioelectricity generation through microbial fuel cells (MFCs) using a variety of
substrates, including wastewater (sewage water) is It is double advantageous as it can treat
sewage water at the same time it can generate bio electricity.

Energy is the prime mover of economic growth and is vital to the sustenance of a modern
economy. Future economic growth crucially depends on the long-term availability of energy
from sources that are affordable, accessible and environmentally friendly. Microbial fuel cells
(MFCs) may be represents a completely new approach to waste water treatment with production
of sustainable clean energy. MFC is a device that uses bacteria to generate electricity from the
breakdown of organic substrates. Bacteria gain energy for metabolism by transferring electrons
from an electron donor, such as glucose or acetate, to an electron acceptor, such as oxygen. The
anode electrode of a MFC takes the place of the bacteria’s typical electron acceptor, moving the
electrons into a circuit, through a resistor, to the cathode electrode of the MFC, generating
electricity. Protons diffuse from the anode and join with oxygen to form water at the cathode
completing the reaction. The benefits of using microbial fuel cells for wastewater treatment
include: clean, safe, quiet performance, low emissions, high efficiency, and direct electricity
recovery.

Pollution:
Environmental pollution is “the contamination of the physical and biological components of the
earth/atmosphere system to such an extent that normal environmental processes are adversely affected”.
The contamination of air, water, or soil by substances that is harmful to living organisms.
Pollution can occur naturally, for example through volcanic eruptions, or as the result of human
activities, such as the spilling of oil or disposal of industrial waste. Light from cities and towns at
night that interferes with astronomical observations is known as light pollution. It can also
disturb natural rhythms of growth in plants and other organisms. Continuous noise that is loud
enough to be annoying or physically harmful is known as noise pollution. Heat from hot water
that is discharged from a factory into a river or lake, where it can kill or endanger aquatic life, is
known as thermal pollution.

Types of Pollution:

• Air Pollution
• Water Pollution
• Noise Pollution
• Land Pollution
• Radioactive Pollution
• Thermal Pollution

Source of Pollution:

Different products, processes and activities of our industrialized world together form the major
source of pollution. The forms of pollution are as follows:

• Solid
• Liquid
• Gaseous

The Source of Pollution: Solid Pollutants

Sources of solid pollution are as follows:

• Contaminated Land.
• Contaminated Debris (Toxic metals, Petrol pumps)
• Spillage of Leakage of Raw Materials, Products or Wastes (Powders, Resins, Granules,
etc.)
• Release of smoke and solids.

The Source of Pollution: Liquid Pollutants

Sources of liquid pollution are as follows:
 • Spilled Raw Material, Consumables, Wastes.
• Leakage from Machinery and Pipe work.
• Damaged Supply Lines and Drains
• 'Deliberate' Discharge of Effluent.
• Mobilization of Soil contamination – 'Leaching'.

The Source of Pollution: Gaseous Pollutants

Sources of Gaseous pollution are as follows:

• Process Fumes, Wastes.

• Decomposition of Organic Materials – Landfills and Waste.
• Evaporation of Organic and Volatile Chemicals.
• Naturally occurring Radioactive Gases.

Pollution chart:

Pollution Facts:

 Pollution is a Global Killer

Pollution likely affects over a billion people around the world, with millions poisoned and killed
each year. The World Heath Organization estimates that 25 percent of all deaths in the
developing world are directly attributable to environmental factor.1 Some researchers estimate
that exposure to pollution causes 40 percent of deaths annually.2

 Pollution is Regarded as a Major (and quickly emerging) Factor in Disease

People affected by pollution problems are much more susceptible to contracting other diseases.
Others have impaired neurological development, damaged immune systems, and long-term
health problems.

 Women and Children are Especially at Risk, Children are Most Susceptible

Children are physiologically different and more vulnerable than adults. In some cases they have
higher exposures since they eat, drink and breathe more per kilogram of body weight than adults
and tend to ingest a lot more dirt and house dust than adults from their crawling around and
playing outside.

While children only make up 10 percent of the world’s population, over 40 percent of the global
burden of disease falls on them. Indeed, more than three million children under age five die
annually from environmental factors.

 Death is Not the Only Toll of Exposure to Pollutants

Pollution causes chronic illness, neurological damage and shortened lifespan. For instance, the
presence of lead in children lowers I.Q. by an estimated 4-7 points for each increase of 10
μg/dL.3 Our database identifies populations around the globe with blood lead levels ranging
from 50 -100 μg/dL, up to 10 times the WHO reference levels for protection against neurological
damage.

 Pollution is Worst in the Developing World

The world’s worst polluted places are in the developing world. Similar conditions no longer
exist in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia today. In wealthier countries, there are
sufficient legal, political, cultural and economic disincentives for polluters to allow their
activities to affect human health on a massive scale. Unfortunately, many of these tactics do not
work in developing countries that are trying to increase their industrialization and make
themselves economically competitive for manufacturing and processing.

 Pollution Contributes to Global Warming

Toxic emission from industry and other sources may contain greenhouse gases. Therefore some
sources of pollution contribute to global warming. Unlike global warming, where the negative
effects are evolutionary and solutions elusive, the effects of pollution are immediate and deadly,
and the solutions are well-known and available.

 Pollution: A Global Killer, a Solvable Problem

The understanding and the technology for remediation of all types of pollution sites is well
established in the industrialized world, where life-threatening toxic pollution has almost been
eliminated. All that is needed to eliminate pollution worldwide is resources and commitment.

Water Pollution:
Water pollution is an undesirable change in the state of water, contaminated with harmful
substances. It is the second most important environmental issue next to air pollution. Any change
in the physical, chemical and biological properties of water that has a harmful effect on living
things is water pollution. Water pollution affects all the major water bodies of the world such as
lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater. Polluted water is unfit for drinking and for other
consumption processes. It is also not suitable for agricultural and industrial use. The effects of
water pollution are harmful to human beings, plants, animals, fish and birds. Polluted water also
contains viruses, bacteria, intestinal parasites and other harmful microorganisms, which can
cause waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, and typhoid. Due to water pollution, the
entire ecosystem gets disturbed.
Although it covers more than 70 percent of the surface of the Earth, water is one of the most
precious natural resources of our planet. The reason being that about 97 percent of it is salty, and
therefore undrinkable, a further 2 percent is locked in glaciers and polar ice caps, thus leaving
just about 1 percent of it useful for drinking and cooking. Apart from clean drinking water, we
also need to keep the waters in the oceans, rivers, and lakes unpolluted because otherwise it
harms the very planet we survive on. With human populations increasing rapidly it has resulted
in us polluting all the water resources of our planet, so much so, precious and unique organisms
and ecosystems are being harmed and are even dying at an alarming rate.

Causes of Water Pollution:

Although certain natural processes may cause some of the water pollution, however, human
activity is the largest cause of our seas, rivers and lakes getting polluted. We need to use water
everyday both in our industries as well as our homes. We get this water from groundwater
sources, rivers, and lakes, and after using it, and often contaminating it, most of this water gets
back into the rivers, lakes, and oceans.

The used water from agricultural and industrial practices, and household use create wastewater,
also referred to as sewage. If this is allowed to flow back into water systems without being
treated, it causes pollution, which results in harming both humans as well as animal life. Water
also gets polluted when there is a runoff of rainwater from industrial, agricultural, and urban
areas, which flow directly through storm water drains into water systems without any treatment.
The disposal of sewage is a major problem in developing countries where there isn’t adequate
sanitation in large areas, thus carrying disease causing bacteria and viruses into sources of water.
In countries that are developed, people often flush pharmaceutical and chemical products into
their toilet.

Some of the other causes of pollution are oil spillages and dumping in oceans, dumping litter into
streams, rivers, and oceans such as cardboard, newspaper, foam, Styrofoam, plastic packaging,
aluminum, glass, and so on. Some of these take a very long time to degrade, e.g., plastic
packaging can take 400 years, Styrofoam takes 80 years, foam takes 50 years, and aluminum
takes 200 years.

Nuclear waste, atmospheric deposition, and underground storage leakages are some of the other
causes of water pollution.
Contaminants can also be divided into inorganic, organic, acid/base and radioactive.

Organic water pollutants are:

• Food processing waste, including pathogens

• Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalide and other chemicals
• Tree and brush debris from logging operations
• Bacteria from sewage or livestock operations
• Petroleum hydrocarbons like diesel, gasoline, jet fuels, fuel oils, motor oils
• Volatile organic compounds like industrial solvents

Inorganic water pollutants are:

• pre-production industrial raw resin pellets

• heavy metals including acid mine drainage
• chemical waste as industrial by-products
• acidity due to industrial discharges like sulphur dioxide
• silt in surface runoff due to logging, slash and burn practices, construction sites or land
clearing sites
 • fertilizers in runoff from agriculture including nitrates and phosphates

Facts about Water Pollution:

Water pollution is the contamination of water so that it becomes unfit for usage. We do not
have to pay attention to the natural phenomenon like volcanoes, algae blooms, earthquake or
other factors which cause the ecological status of water to deplete because primarily nature is
intelligent enough to take care of all that and secondly we can not really do anything about it.
Aim of writing this article is to create awareness required to stop the suicidal act of
contamination of water so that we all can live in harmony with Mother Nature appreciating the
gifts it has given to us, humans.

Facts about water pollution About 20% of the world's population lacks access to safe drinking
water and about 50% lacks adequate sanitation. In many developing countries, rivers
downstream of large cities are little cleaner than open sewers. Levels of suspended solids in
Asia's rivers, for example, almost quadrupled since the late 1970s and rivers typically contain
four times the world average and 20 times OECD levels. The faecal coliform count in Asia's
rivers is 50 times higher than the WHO guidelines. People using such water for washing, bathing
or drinking are at high risk. In Latin America as a whole, only about 2 per cent of sewage
receives any treatment. Worldwide, polluted water is estimated to affect the health of about 1200
million people and to contribute to the death of about 15 million children under five every year
(ICWE 1992).

Eutrophication: Factors that cause increased nutrient concentrations can potentially lead to
eutrophication. This kind of pollution is a result of nutrient pollution such as the release of
sewage effluent and run-off from lawn fertilizers into natural waters, although it may also occur
naturally in situations where nutrients accumulate or where they flow into systems on an
ephemeral basis. Eutrophication generally promotes excessive plant growth and decay, and is
likely to cause severe reductions in water quality. Eutrophication causes decreased biodiversity,
changes in species composition, dominance (algal boom), and toxicity effects. Any factor that
causes increased nutrient concentrations can potentially lead to eutrophication.
Hypoxia: Eutrophication leads to hypoxia. This phenomenon of oxygen depletion in which
molecular oxygen dissolved in water is reduced in concentration between 1 and 30% is called
Hypoxia. To overcome this problem of hypoxia, it is vital to reduce the amount of land-derived
nutrients reaching rivers. This can be done by improving sewage treatment and by reducing the
amount of fertilizers leaching into the rivers and by restoring natural environments along a river;
marshes are particularly effective in reducing the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen (nutrients)
in water.

Marine pollution, acidification of ocean, oil spill and thermal pollution are few of the other
modes of polluting water. And the price we pay by polluting one of the most important
sustenance of life is vast yearly death caused by waterborne diseases. Industrial wastes are
significant sources of water pollution, often giving rise to contamination with heavy metals (lead,
mercury, arsenic and cadmium) and persistent organic compounds. A study of 15 Japanese cities,
for example, showed that 30 per cent of all groundwater supplies are contaminated by
chlorinated solvents from industry; in some cases, the solvents from spills traveled as far as 10
km from the source of pollution (UNEP 1996b).

Some more water pollution facts: Asian rivers are the most polluted in the world. They have
three times as many bacteria from human waste as the global average and 20 times more lead
than rivers in industrialized countries. Thirty percent of Ireland's rivers are polluted with sewage
or fertilizer. The King River is Australia's most polluted river, suffering from a severe acidic
condition related to mining operations.100, 000 marine mammals, 1 million sea birds and other
aquatic lives are killed due to plastic waste in water and coastal area. Bangladesh has some of the
most polluted groundwater in the world. In this case, the contaminant is arsenic, which occurs
naturally in the sediments. Around 85% of the total area of the country has contaminated
groundwater, with at least 1.2 million Bangladeshis exposed to arsenic poisoning and with
millions more at risk. Pollution of freshwater (drinking water) is a problem for about half of the
world's population. Each year there are about 250 million cases of water-related diseases, with
roughly 5 to 10 million deaths.
With over 70 percent of the planet covered by oceans, people have long acted as if these very
bodies of water could serve as a limitless dumping ground for wastes. Raw sewage, garbage, and
oil spills have begun to overwhelm the diluting capabilities of the oceans, and most coastal
waters are now polluted. Beaches around the world are closed regularly, often because of high
amounts of bacteria from sewage disposal, and marine wildlife is beginning to suffer. Water!
From drinking a glass of cold water to power generation, water has so much utilitarian value that
perhaps it would not be an understatement to say that when God thought about life probably he
thought of water first. If we do not pay attention to these facts about water pollution, time is not
far when from "blue planet" our earth will become "dirty blue planet."

Sewage Water Pollution:

Sewage water pollution, one of the major problems faced by most cities nowadays, creates lot of health
issues as well as environmental pollution. If the water is treated properly, it can prove beneficial.

Sewage water pollution is one of the major problems in cities. The sewage water is drained off into rivers
without treatment. The careless disposal of sewage water leads to a chain of problems, such as spreading
of diseases, eutrophication, increase in Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), etc.

The waste water that flows after being used for domestic, industrial and other purposes is termed as
sewage water. In ideal situations, the sewage water is channeled or piped out of cities for treatment. Bulk
of the sewage contains water as the main component, while other constituents include organic wastes and
chemicals.

Main Causes of Sewage Water Pollution

Improper handling of waste water is the main reason behind the pollution of water. The sewage is drained
off in large quantities into rivers. It slows down the process of dilution of the constituents present in the
water; which in turn, stagnates the river.

Draining off the water without treatment is also a reason behind sewage water pollution. These effluents
contain innumerable pathogens and harmful chemicals. The detergents that release phosphates in water,
help the growth of algae and water hyacinths.

Ill-effects of Sewage Pollution

The pathogens contained in the sewage water spread many diseases. Stagnant water fosters the
growth of mosquitoes, which cause malaria. Another disease that spreads through
contaminated water is typhoid.

Excessive deposition of chemical nutrients in water bodies is called eutrophication. It is one of

the numerous problems created by sewage water pollution. Degradation of the quality of water,
reduction in the number of fish and increase in BOD, are the effects of eutrophication.

The toxins released into the rivers through sewage water are consumed by fishes and other
organisms, thus increasing the possibility of these toxins entering the food chain. Coral reefs are
affected by sewage pollution the world over. The sewage water that is dumped in the oceans,
affects the coral reefs to a great extent. The toxins present in the polluted water inhibit the
growth of corals.
Water bodies in their natural form contain chemical compounds such as the bicarbonates,
nitrates, chlorides, sulphates, etc. However, various problems arise with the increase in the
amount of these compounds. The water becomes unsuitable for drinking and irrigation. Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS) in water should be less than 500mg/gram, for it to be considered potable.
Water which contains salts is not useful for irrigation either. Utilization of such water leads to
the salinization of the soil, which in turn leads to soil erosion.

Domestic Sewage:
Domestic sewage refers to waste water that is discarded from households. Also referred to as
sanitary sewage; such water contains a wide variety of dissolved and suspended impurities.
Biochemical oxygen demand or BOD.

The amount of organic material that can rot in the sewage is measured by the biochemical
oxygen demand. BOD is the amount of oxygen required by micro-organisms to decompose the
organic substances in sewage. Therefore, the more organic material there is in the sewage, the
higher the BOD. It is among the most important parameters for the design and operation of
sewage treatment plants. BOD levels of industrial sewage may be many times that of domestic
sewage. Dissolved oxygen is an important factor that determines the quality of water in lakes and
rivers. The higher the concentration of dissolved oxygen, the better the water quality. When
sewage enters a lake or stream, micro-organisms begin to decompose the organic materials.
Oxygen is consumed as micro-organisms use it in their metabolism. This can quickly deplete the
available oxygen in the water. When the dissolved oxygen levels drop too low, many aquatic
species perish. In fact, if the oxygen level drops to zero, the water will become septic. When
organic compounds decompose without oxygen, it gives rise to the undesirable odours usually
associated with septic or putrid conditions.
It amounts to a very small fraction of the sewage by weight. But it is large by volume and
contains impurities such as organic materials and plant nutrients that tend to rot. The main
organic materials are food and vegetable waste, plant nutrient come from chemical soaps,
washing powders, etc. Domestic sewage is also very likely to contain disease-causing microbes.
Thus, disposal of domestic waste water is a significant technical problem. Sewage generated
from the urban areas in India has multiplied manifold since 1947.
Today, many people dump their garbage into streams, lakes, rivers, and seas, thus making water
bodies the final resting place of cans, bottles, plastics, and other household products. The various
substances that we use for keeping our houses clean add to water pollution as they contain
harmful chemicals. In the past, people mostly used soaps made from animal and vegetable fat for
all types of washing. But most of today’s cleaning products are synthetic detergents and come
from the petrochemical industry. Most detergents and washing powders contain phosphates,
which are used to soften the water among other things. These and other chemicals contained in
washing powders affect the health of all forms of life in the water.

Need for Treatment of Sewage Water:

If the sewage water is treated before being released into rivers, most of the problems pertaining
to pollution would be solved. Removing contaminants is the main objective behind treating
sewage water. Before the actual treatment, the effluent is pretreated. Pretreatment helps in
separating materials like oils, greases, gravel and sand from the polluted water. It can be done, by
filtering the sewage water. The biological wastes dissolved in the water are treated with
microbes. This helps in converting them into a solid mass, which can be separated easily
thereafter. After the biological treatment, the partially pure effluent is treated with chemical
disinfectants. The water treated in the treatment plants can be used in golf courses for watering
the lawns and in agriculture for irrigation. Some sewage treatment plants are very efficient and
produce clear and clean water at the end of the process.

Sewage water treatment is a must, when environmental issues are an increasing concern.
Efforts need to be taken to purify the effluents. It will not only benefit human beings but
also the varied flora and fauna on our planet. Let's pledge to keep our environment
beautiful and free from any kind of pollution.

Electricity demand in India:

Power as such is not traded as a commodity and is the most essential ingredient to provide the
most critical infrastructure for all other sectors to work. The Power generation in India has
constantly grown to 150,323 mw as on June, 2009. But this is not even comparable in any
standard with per capita consumption of world average of 2,300 Kwh.
The growth in electricity consumption over the past decade has been slower than the GDP‟s
growth. This could be due to high growth of the services sector or it could reflect improving
efficiency of electricity use. Moreover, captive generation has also increased. However, as
growth in the manufacturing sector picks up, the demand for power is also expected to increase
at a faster rate. Demand will also increase along with electrification. The power generation
capacity has to grow by at least 10 percent to sustain the current GDP growth of 9 percent, say
industry experts. Ideally, they say, the ratio of energy generation and GDP growth should be 1:1.
A World Energy Council report has indicated that 44% of Indian household does not have
electricity connection at all and nearly 90% of rural habitations rely on forest woods for primary
energy.
India has the potential to show the fastest growth over the next 30 to 50 years. Growth rate could
be higher than 5 percent over the next 30 years and close to 5 percent as late as 2050 if
development proceeds successfully. Growth in capital stock together with growth in factor
productivity will yield output growth of 5.4 percent. Over the next 20 years, the working age
population is projected to grow at 1.9 percent per year. If educational attainment and
participation rates remain unchanged, labor growth will contribute another 1.3 percent, yielding
an aggregate growth rate of 6.7 percent per year, or a per capita growth rate of 5.3 percent. This
is a lower bound estimate and, even so, would be significantly greater than the per capita growth
rate of 3.6 percent achieved in the 1980s and 1990s. Over a 40-year period, a 5.3 percent growth
rate would increase the income of the average person nearly 8-fold.
Energy intensity of GDP, defined as the ratio of the energy consumption to the GDP, has been
observed to follow a certain trend worldwide. Below a certain level of development, growth
results in increase in energy intensity. With further growth in economy, the energy intensity
starts declining. Based on data by International Energy Agency , overall energy intensity of GDP
in India is the same as in OECD countries, when GDP is calculated in terms of the purchasing
power parity (PPP). Energy-GDP elasticity, the ratio of the growth rates of the two, remained
around 1.3 from early fifties to mid-seventies. Since then it has been continuously decreasing.
Electricity is the most important component of the primary energy. Electricity-GDP elasticity
was 3.0 till the mid-sixties. It has also decreased since then. Reasons for these energy–economy
elasticity changes are: demographic shifts from rural to urban areas, structural economic changes
towards lighter industry, impressive growth of services, increased use of energy efficient
devices, increased efficiency of conversion equipments and inter-fuel substitution with more
efficient alternatives. Based on the CMIE data , the average value of the Electricity-GDP
elasticity during 1991-2000 has been calculated to be 1.213 and that of the primary energy- GDP
elasticity to be 0.907. Estimating the future GDP growth rates of India from the projections
taking the primary energy intensity fall to be 1.2 percent per year , extrapolating the electricity
intensity fall from past data till 2022 and subsequently a constant fall of 1.2 percent year, the
growth rates of the primary energy and electrical energy have been estimated as follows.

Period Primary Energy Electricity

Percent Annual Growth Percent Annual Growth

2002-2022 4.6 6.3

2022-2032 4.5 4.9

2032-2042 4.5 4.5

2042-2052 3.9 3.9

Based on the growth rates given in the above table, per capita electricity generation would reach
about 5300 kWh per year in the year 2052 and total about 8000 TWh. This would 7 The Future
of Power Sector in India corresponds to an installed capacity of around 1300 GWe. Annual
primary energy consumption would increase from about 13.5 EJ in 2002-03 to about 117 EJ in
2052-53. By then the cumulative energy expenditure will be about 2400 EJ.

Microbial fuel cell-an alternative to sewage water treatment

and bioelectricity generation:

Application of Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) may represent a completely new approach to
wastewater treatment with production of sustainable clean energy. In recent years, researchers
have shown that MFCs can be used to produce electricity from water containing glucose, acetate
or lactate. Studies on electricity generation using organic matter from the wastewater as substrate
are in progress.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are remarkable “green energy” devices that exploit microbes to
generate electricity from organic compounds. They (MFCs) are devices that generate electricity
from organic compounds through microbial catabolism. MFC is a biochemical-catalyzed system
which generates
electrical energy through the oxidation of biodegradable organic matter in the presence of either
fermentative bacteria or enzyme under mild reaction conditions (ambient temperature and
pressure).The biocatalyst present in the anode chamber of fuel cell generates electrons (e−) and
protons (H+) and the potential between the respiratory system and electron acceptor generates
electricity. Thus, bacterial energy is directly converted to electrical energy and to close the cycle,
protons migrate through a proton exchange membrane (PEM) from anode to cathode.
Biofuel cells have characteristics similar to traditional power sources as well as to anaerobic
reactors which can on the one hand be described by electrochemical parameters such as power
density, electrical current output and cell voltage and on the other hand by biological parameters
such as the substrate loading rate.

Rapid industrialization contributes for large quantity of wastewater and its treatment is highly
imperative. Reducing the wastewater treatment cost and finding ways to produce useful products
from wastewater is gaining importance recently in view of environmental sustainability. In
anaerobic process, chemical energy is converted to H2 and methane, which can be used as a fuel
or to produce electricity, but in MFCs chemical energy present in the waste components is
directly converted to electricity .Exploiting wastewater as substrate to generate electricity is
considered as sustainable and promising approach to meet the increasing energy needs and also
as a substitute for fossil fuels. Technologies for electricity production especially using
wastewaters as substrates employing MFC are in the early stages of research and development.
Since microorganisms act as a catalyst in the transfer of electrons from the substrate to the
anode, the selection of a high-performing microbial culture (either pure or mixed) is of crucial
importance in the MFCs .MFC design, effective assembly of membrane electrode for reducing
the proton transfer resistance, enhancing cost effective turbulence for effective interaction of
substrate with bacterial colony on anode and suspended bacteria, reducing the potential loss at
anode, providing adequate surface area for the bacterial growth, improving the cathode reaction,
selection of bacterial consortium were the parameters on which electricity generation potential in
MFC depends.

Types of MFCs:

• Mediated fuel cells

• Mediator less fuel cell

Fuel cells that use bacteria are classified as two different types: biofuel cells that generate electricity
from the addition of artificial electron shuttles (mediators) and microbial fuel cells (MFCs) that do
not require the addition of mediator.

Mediated fuel cells:

Biofuel cells use biocatalysts for the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy. It is a
device that directly converts microbial metabolic or enzyme catalytic energy into electricity by
using conventional electrochemical technology. The biocatalysts participate in the electron
transfer chain between the fuel-substrate (organic or inorganic) and the electrode surfaces. That
is, microorganisms or redox-enzymes facilitate the electron transfer between the fuel substrate
and the electrode interface, thereby enhancing the cell current. It has been shown that, direct
electron transfer from microbial cells to electrodes occurs only at very low efficiency. Most of
the redox-enzymes lack in direct electron transfer with conductive supports and a variety of
electron mediators (electron relays) are used for electrical contacting of the biocatalysts and the
electrode. Since, most microbial cells are electrochemically inactive; electron transfer from
microbial cells to the electrode is facilitated by the help of mediators such as thionine, methyl
viologen, humic acid, etc. Enzyme catalyzed generation of NADH (dihydro-nicotinamide
adenine dinucleotide) from alcohol, lactic acid, amino acids, formate or other abundant
substrates could provide the bio-transformations that activate the anodic compartment of the fuel
cell9. Theoretically, any organic or inorganic compound or a mixture can serve as a fuel,
provided it is oxidized by the appropriate organism, e.g., the reaction for glucose is:
 Load

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Fuel e Oxidant

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Reduced
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