Application of Biofilms in Electricity Generation, Wastewater Treatment and Bioremediation
Akash Mitra and Arindam Mitra
from: Microbial Biofilms: Current Research and Practical Implications (Edited by: Arindam Mitra). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2020) Pages: 217-236.
Abstract
Bacteria residing in biofilm mode are considered detrimental due to their enhanced ability of resistance towards chemicals, antibiotics and immune defenses but biofilms can be harnessed for beneficial processes such as wastewater treatment, bioremediation and electricity generation. In wastewater reactor systems, biofilms are grown and immobilized to enhance the rate of degradation of contaminants in wastewater and can be advantageous to a number of removal mechanisms such as biodegradation and biomineralization. Biofilm based bioremediation utilizes metabolic capacity of microbes in biofilms to degrade harmful pollutants and the process is considered cost-effective, reliable and widely used in industry. In microbial fuel cells, biofilms are deposited on electroconductive surfaces such as anode and cathode and during electron transfer, chemical energy is converted into usable electrical energy which can then be harvested by appropriate electronic devices. Microbial Fuel Cells are a promising sustainable technology that can reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and will be used more in the future. Here we discuss recent studies on applications of biofilms in microbial fuel cells, wastewater treatment and bioremediation read more ...
