Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have emerged as a promising technology for sustainable wastewater treatment coupled with electricity generation. A MFC is a device that uses microbes as catalysts to convert chemical energy present in biomass into electrical energy. Among the various mechanisms that drive the operation of a MFC, extracellular electron transfer (EET) to the anode is one of the most important. Exoelectrogenic bacteria can natively transfer electrons to a conducting surface like the anode. The mechanisms employed for electron transfer can either be direct transfer via conductive pili or nanowires, or mediated transfer that involves either naturally secreted redox mediators like flavins and pyocyanins or artificially added mediators like methylene blue and neutral red. EET is a mechanism wherein microorganisms extract energy for growth and maintenance from their surroundings and transfer the resulting electrons to the anode to generate current. The efficiency of these electron transfer mechanisms is dependent not only on the redox potentials of the species involved, but also on microbial oxidative metabolism that liberates electrons. Attempts at understanding the electron transfer mechanisms will boost efforts in giving rise to practical applications. This article covers the various electron transfer mechanisms involved between microbes and electrodes in microbial fuel cells and their applications.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
Abbreviations
- BOD:
-
Biochemical oxygen demand
- COD:
-
Chemical oxygen demand
- EAB:
-
Electroactive biofilm
- EET:
-
Extracellular electron transfer
- DET:
-
Direct electron transfer
- MET:
-
Mediated electron transfer
- MFC:
-
Microbial fuel cell
- OMC:
-
Outer membrane cytochrome
- TEA:
-
Terminal electron acceptor
- VFA:
-
Volatile fatty acid
References
Abdallah M, Feroz S, Alani S, Sayed ET, Shanableh A (2019) Continuous and scalable applications of microbial fuel cells: a critical review. Rev Environ Sci Bio/Technol 18:543–578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-019-09508-x
Ahn Y, Logan BE (2013) Domestic wastewater treatment using multi-electrode continuous flow MFCs with a separator electrode assembly design. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97:409–416
Akiba T, Bennetto HP, Stirling JL, Tanaka K (1987) Electricity production from alkalophilic organisms. Biotechnol Lett 9:611–616
Akman D, Cirik K, Ozdemir S, Ozkaya B, Cinar O (2013) Bioelectricity generation in continuously-fed microbial fuel cell: effects of anode electrode material and hydraulic retention time. Bioresour Technol 149:459–464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2013.09.102
Allen RM, Bennetto HP (1993) Microbial fuel-cells. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 39:27–40
Altamura L, Horvath C, Rengaraj S, Rongier A, Elouarzaki K, Gondran C, Maçon ALB, Vendrely C, Bouchiat V, Fontecave M, Mariolle D, Rannou P, Le Goff A, Duraffourg N, Holzinger M, Forge V (2017) A synthetic redox biofilm made from metalloprotein–prion domain chimera nanowires. Nat Chem 9:157–163. https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2616
Asensio Y, Mansilla E, Fernandez-Marchante CM, Lobato J, Cañizares P, Rodrigo MA (2017) Towards the scale-up of bioelectrogenic technology: stacking microbial fuel cells to produce larger amounts of electricity. J Appl Electrochem 47:1115–1125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-017-1101-2
Baron D, LaBelle E, Coursolle D, Gralnick JA, Bond DR (2009) Electrochemical measurement of electron transfer kinetics by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. J Biol Chem 284:28865–28873
Bjerg JT, Boschker HTS, Larsen S, Berry D, Schmid M, Millo D, Tataru P, Meysman FJR, Wagner M, Nielsen LP, Schramm A (2018) Long-distance electron transport in individual, living cable bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci 115:5786–5791. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1800367115
Boon N, Aelterman P, Clauwaert P, De Schamphelaire L, Vanhaecke L, De Maeyer K, Höfte M, Verstraete W, Rabaey K (2008) Metabolites produced by Pseudomonas sp. enable a Gram-positive bacterium to achieve extracellular electron transfer. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 77:1119–1129
Branda SS, Vik Å, Friedman L, Kolter R (2005) Biofilms: the matrix revisited. Trends Microbiol 13:20–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2004.11.006
Busalmen JP, Esteve-Núñez A, Berná A, Feliu JM (2008) C-type cytochromes wire electricity-producing bacteria to electrodes. Angew Chemie Int Ed 47:4874–4877
Cao X, Huang X, Liang P, Boon N, Fan M, Zhang L, Zhang X (2009) A completely anoxic microbial fuel cell using a photo-biocathode for cathodic carbon dioxide reduction. Energy Environ Sci 2:498–501
Cao Y, Mu H, Liu W, Zhang R, Guo J, Xian M, Liu H (2019) Electricigens in the anode of microbial fuel cells: pure cultures versus mixed communities. Microb Cell Fact 18:39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-019-1087-z
Cheng S, Xing D, Call DF, Logan BE (2009) Direct biological conversion of electrical current into methane by electromethanogenesis. Environ Sci Technol 43:3953–3958
Chong GW, Karbelkar AA, El-Naggar MY (2018) Nature’s conductors: what can microbial multi-heme cytochromes teach us about electron transport and biological energy conversion? Curr Opin Chem Biol 47:7–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2018.06.007
Chouler J, Cruz-Izquierdo Á, Rengaraj S, Scott JL, Di Lorenzo M (2018) A screen-printed paper microbial fuel cell biosensor for detection of toxic compounds in water. Biosens Bioelectron 102:49–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2017.11.018
Deng X, Dohmae N, Nealson KH, Hashimoto K, Okamoto A (2018) Multi-heme cytochromes provide a pathway for survival in energy-limited environments. Sci Adv 4:eaao5682. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aao5682
Donovan C, Dewan A, Heo D, Beyenal H (2008) Batteryless, wireless sensor powered by a sediment microbial fuel cell. Environ Sci Technol 42:8591–8596
Dumas C, Basseguy R, Bergel A (2008) Microbial electrocatalysis with Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilm on stainless steel cathodes. Electrochim Acta 53:2494–2500
Freguia S, Masuda M, Tsujimura S, Kano K (2009) Lactococcus lactis catalyses electricity generation at microbial fuel cell anodes via excretion of a soluble quinone. Bioelectrochemistry 76:14–18
Freguia S, Tsujimura S, Kano K (2010) Electron transfer pathways in microbial oxygen biocathodes. Electrochim Acta 55:813–818
Fuller SJ, McMillan DGG, Renz MB, Schmidt M, Burke IT, Stewart DI (2014) Extracellular electron transport-mediated Fe (III) reduction by a community of alkaliphilic bacteria that use flavins as electron shuttles. Appl Environ Microbiol 80:128–137
Glasser NR, Saunders SH, Newman DK (2017) The colorful world of extracellular electron shuttles. Annu Rev Microbiol 71:731–751. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-090816-093913
Gorby YA, Yanina S, McLean JS, Rosso KM, Moyles D, Dohnalkova A, Beveridge TJ, Chang IS, Kim BH, Kim KS (2006) Electrically conductive bacterial nanowires produced by Shewanella oneidensis strain MR-1 and other microorganisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci 103:11358–11363
Gregory KB, Lovley DR (2005) Remediation and recovery of uranium from contaminated subsurface environments with electrodes. Environ Sci Technol 39:8943–8947
Harnisch F, Rabaey K (2012) The diversity of techniques to study electrochemically active biofilms highlights the need for standardization. ChemSusChem 5:1027–1038
He Z, Angenent LT (2006) Application of bacterial biocathodes in microbial fuel cells. Electroanal An Int J Devot Fundam Pract Asp Electroanal 18:2009–2015
Heinzelmann E (2019) A new technology breaks through: 1000-litre microbial fuel cell generates pure water and electricity. Chim Int J Chem 73:334–336. https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2019.334
Hiegemann H, Herzer D, Nettmann E, Lübken M, Schulte P, Schmelz K-G, Gredigk-Hoffmann S, Wichern M (2016) An integrated 45L pilot microbial fuel cell system at a full-scale wastewater treatment plant. Bioresour Technol 218:115–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.06.052
Holmes DE, Chaudhuri SK, Nevin KP, Mehta T, Methé BA, Liu A, Ward JE, Woodard TL, Webster J, Lovley DR (2006) Microarray and genetic analysis of electron transfer to electrodes in Geobacter sulfurreducens. Environ Microbiol 8:1805–1815. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2006.01065.x
Huang L, Regan JM, Quan X (2011) Electron transfer mechanisms, new applications, and performance of biocathode microbial fuel cells. Bioresour Technol 102:316–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.06.096
Ieropoulos IA, Greenman J, Melhuish C, Hart J (2005) Comparative study of three types of microbial fuel cell. Enzyme Microb Technol 37:238–245
Ieropoulos IA, Ledezma P, Stinchcombe A, Papaharalabos G, Melhuish C, Greenman J (2013) Waste to real energy: the first MFC powered mobile phone. Phys Chem Chem Phys 15:15312. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3cp52889h
Ivars-Barceló F, Zuliani A, Fallah M, Mashkour M, Rahimnejad M, Luque R (2018) Novel applications of microbial fuel cells in sensors and biosensors. Appl Sci 8:1184. https://doi.org/10.3390/app8071184
Jain A, Zhang X, Pastorella G, Connolly JO, Barry N, Woolley R, Krishnamurthy S, Marsili E (2012) Electron transfer mechanism in Shewanella loihica PV-4 biofilms formed at graphite electrode. Bioelectrochemistry 87:28–32
Jiang Y, Zeng RJ (2019) Bidirectional extracellular electron transfers of electrode-biofilm: mechanism and application. Bioresour Technol 271:439–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2018.09.133
Jiang C, Yang Q, Wang D, Zhong Y, Chen F, Li X, Zeng G, Li X, Shang M (2017) Simultaneous perchlorate and nitrate removal coupled with electricity generation in autotrophic denitrifying biocathode microbial fuel cell. Chem Eng J 308:783–790
Kim BH, Chang IS, Gil GC, Park HS, Kim HJ (2003) Novel BOD (biological oxygen demand) sensor using mediator-less microbial fuel cell. Biotechnol Lett 25:541–545
Koch C, Harnisch F (2016) What is the essence of microbial electroactivity? Front Microbiol 7:1–5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01890
Kumar R, Singh L, Zularisam AW (2016) Exoelectrogens: recent advances in molecular drivers involved in extracellular electron transfer and strategies used to improve it for microbial fuel cell applications. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 56:1322–1336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.029
Kumar SS, Kumar V, Kumar R, Malyan SK, Pugazhendhi A (2019) Microbial fuel cells as a sustainable platform technology for bioenergy, biosensing, environmental monitoring, and other low power device applications. Fuel 255:115682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.115682
Laurinavicius V, Razumiene J, Ramanavicius A, Ryabov AD (2004) Wiring of PQQ–dehydrogenases. Biosens Bioelectron 20:1217–1222
Li Y, Li H (2014) Type IV pili of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans can transfer electrons from extracellular electron donors. J Basic Microbiol 54:226–231
Li W, Yu H, He Z (2013) Towards sustainable wastewater treatment by using microbial fuel cells-centered technologies. Energy Environ Sci 7:911–924. https://doi.org/10.1039/C3EE43106A
Liang P, Duan R, Jiang Y, Zhang X, Qiu Y, Huang X (2018) One-year operation of 1000-L modularized microbial fuel cell for municipal wastewater treatment. Water Res 141:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.04.066
Liu H, Ramnarayanan R, Logan BE (2004) Production of electricity during wastewater treatment using a single chamber microbial fuel cell. Environ Sci Technol 38:2281–2285. https://doi.org/10.1021/es034923g
Liu X-W, Wang Y-P, Huang Y-X, Sun X-F, Sheng G-P, Zeng RJ, Li F, Dong F, Wang S-G, Tong Z-H, Yu H-Q (2011) Integration of a microbial fuel cell with activated sludge process for energy-saving wastewater treatment: taking a sequencing batch reactor as an example. Biotechnol Bioeng 108:1260–1267. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.23056
Liu J, Chakraborty S, Hosseinzadeh P, Yu Y, Tian S, Petrik I, Bhagi A, Lu Y (2014) Metalloproteins containing cytochrome, iron–sulfur, or copper redox centers. Chem Rev 114:4366–4469
Logan BE (2009) Exoelectrogenic bacteria that power microbial fuel cells. Nat Rev Microbiol 7:375–381. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2113
Logan BE (2010) Scaling up microbial fuel cells and other bioelectrochemical systems. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 85:1665–1671. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-009-2378-9
Logan BE, Hamelers B, Rozendal R, Schröder U, Keller J, Freguia S, Aelterman P, Verstraete W, Rabaey K (2006) Microbial fuel cells: methodology and technology†. Environ Sci Technol 40:5181–5192. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0605016
Logan BE, Wallack MJ, Kim K-Y, He W, Feng Y, Saikaly PE (2015) Assessment of microbial fuel cell configurations and power densities. Environ Sci Technol Lett 2:206–214. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.5b00180
Lovley DR (2006a) Bug juice: harvesting electricity with microorganisms. Nat Rev Microbiol 4:497–508. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1442
Lovley DR (2006b) Microbial fuel cells: novel microbial physiologies and engineering approaches. Curr Opin Biotechnol 17:327–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2006.04.006
Malvankar NS, Lovley DR (2012) Microbial nanowires: a new paradigm for biological electron transfer and bioelectronics. Chemsuschem 5:1039–1046
Malvankar NS, Vargas M, Nevin KP, Franks AE, Leang C, Kim B-C, Inoue K, Mester T, Covalla SF, Johnson JP (2011) Tunable metallic-like conductivity in microbial nanowire networks. Nat Nanotechnol 6:573
Malvankar NS, Tuominen MT, Lovley DR (2012) Biofilm conductivity is a decisive variable for high-current-density Geobacter sulfurreducens microbial fuel cells. Energy Environ Sci 5:5790–5797
Marsili E, Baron DB, Shikhare ID, Coursolle D, Gralnick JA, Bond DR (2008) Shewanella secretes flavins that mediate extracellular electron transfer. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:3968–3973. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0710525105
Masuda M, Freguia S, Wang Y-F, Tsujimura S, Kano K (2010) Flavins contained in yeast extract are exploited for anodic electron transfer by Lactococcus lactis. Bioelectrochemistry 78:173–175
Mathuriya AS, Yakhmi JV (2014) Microbial fuel cells to recover heavy metals. Environ Chem Lett 12:483–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-014-0474-2
Meysman FJR (2018) Cable bacteria take a new breath using long-distance electricity. Trends Microbiol 26:411–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2017.10.011
Modin O, Aulenta F (2017) Three promising applications of microbial electrochemistry for the water sector. Environ Sci Water Res Technol 3:391–402
Moscoviz R, Toledo-Alarcón J, Trably E, Bernet N (2016) Electro-fermentation: how to drive fermentation using electrochemical systems. Trends Biotechnol 34:856–865
Nealson KH, Rowe AR (2016) Electromicrobiology: realities, grand challenges, goals and predictions. Microb Biotechnol 9:595–600. https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.12400
Nevin KP, Kim B-C, Glaven RH, Johnson JP, Woodard TL, Methé BA, DiDonato RJ Jr, Covalla SF, Franks AE, Liu A (2009) Anode biofilm transcriptomics reveals outer surface components essential for high density current production in Geobacter sulfurreducens fuel cells. PLoS ONE 4:e5628
Niessen J, Schröder U, Scholz F (2004) Exploiting complex carbohydrates for microbial electricity generation–a bacterial fuel cell operating on starch. Electrochem Commun 6:955–958
Niessen J, Schröder U, Harnisch F, Scholz F (2005) Gaining electricity from in situ oxidation of hydrogen produced by fermentative cellulose degradation. Lett Appl Microbiol 41:286–290
Pankratova G, Hederstedt L, Gorton L (2019) Extracellular electron transfer features of Gram-positive bacteria. Anal Chim Acta. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2019.05.007
Paquete CM, Fonseca BM, Cruz DR, Pereira TM, Pacheco I, Soares CM, Louro RO (2014) Exploring the molecular mechanisms of electron shuttling across the microbe/metal space. Front Microbiol 5:318
Park DH, Zeikus JG (2000) Electricity generation in microbial fuel cells using neutral red as an electronophore. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:1292–1297. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.66.4.1292-1297.2000
Park DH, Laivenieks M, Guettler MV, Jain MK, Zeikus JG (1999) Microbial utilization of electrically reduced neutral red as the sole electron donor for growth and metabolite production. Appl Environ Microbiol 65:2912–2917
Pasternak G, Greenman J, Ieropoulos I (2019) Removal of Hepatitis B virus surface HBsAg and core HBcAg antigens using microbial fuel cells producing electricity from human urine. Sci Rep 9:11787. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48128-x
Pham TH, Boon N, De Maeyer K, Höfte M, Rabaey K, Verstraete W (2008) Use of Pseudomonas species producing phenazine-based metabolites in the anodes of microbial fuel cells to improve electricity generation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 80:985–993. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-008-1619-7
Pierson LS, Pierson EA (2010) Metabolism and function of phenazines in bacteria: impacts on the behavior of bacteria in the environment and biotechnological processes. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 86:1659–1670
Pirbadian S, El-Naggar MY (2012) Multistep hopping and extracellular charge transfer in microbial redox chains. Phys Chem Chem Phys 14:13802–13808
Pirbadian S, Barchinger SE, Leung KM, Byun HS, Jangir Y, Bouhenni RA, Reed SB, Romine MF, Saffarini DA, Shi L (2014) Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 nanowires are outer membrane and periplasmic extensions of the extracellular electron transport components. Proc Natl Acad Sci 111:12883–12888
Prévoteau A, Rabaey K (2017) Electroactive biofilms for sensing: reflections and perspectives. ACS Sensors 2:1072–1085. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.7b00418
Rabaey K, Boon N, Höfte M, Verstraete W (2005) Microbial phenazine production enhances electron transfer in biofuel cells. Environ Sci Technol 39:3401–3408. https://doi.org/10.1021/es048563o
Reguera G (2018a) Biological electron transport goes the extra mile. Proc Natl Acad Sci 115:5632–5634. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1806580115
Reguera G (2018b) Microbial nanowires and electroactive biofilms. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 94:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiy086
Reguera G, McCarthy KD, Mehta T, Nicoll JS, Tuominen MT, Lovley DR (2005) Extracellular electron transfer via microbial nanowires. Nature 435:1098–1101. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03661
Reguera G, Nevin KP, Nicoll JS, Covalla SF, Woodard TL, Lovley DR (2006) Biofilm and nanowire production leads to increased current in Geobacter sulfurreducens fuel cells. Appl Environ Microbiol 72:7345–7348. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01444-06
Rosenbaum M, Aulenta F, Villano M, Angenent LT (2011) Cathodes as electron donors for microbial metabolism: Which extracellular electron transfer mechanisms are involved? Bioresour Technol 102:324–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2010.07.008
Rowe AR, Rajeev P, Jain A, Pirbadian S, Okamoto A, Gralnick JA, El-Naggar MY, Nealson KH (2018) Tracking electron uptake from a cathode into Shewanella cells: implications for energy acquisition from solid-substrate electron donors. MBio 9:1–19. https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.02203-17
Rozendal RA, Jeremiasse AW, Hamelers HVM, Buisman CJN (2007) Hydrogen production with a microbial biocathode. Environ Sci Technol 42:629–634
Santos TC, Silva MA, Morgado L, Dantas JM, Salgueiro CA (2015) Diving into the redox properties of Geobacter sulfurreducens cytochromes: a model for extracellular electron transfer. Dalton Trans 44:9335–9344
Schaetzle O, Barrière F, Baronian K (2008) Bacteria and yeasts as catalysts in microbial fuel cells: electron transfer from micro-organisms to electrodes for green electricity. Energy Environ Sci 1:607. https://doi.org/10.1039/b810642h
Schröder U (2007) Anodic electron transfer mechanisms in microbial fuel cells and their energy efficiency. Phys Chem Chem Phys 9:2619–2629. https://doi.org/10.1039/b703627m
Schröder U (2018) A basic introduction into microbial fuel cells and microbial electrocatalysis. ChemTexts 4:19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40828-018-0072-1
Schröder U, Harnisch F (2017) Life electric—nature as a blueprint for the development of microbial electrochemical technologies. Joule 1:244–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2017.07.010
Schröder U, Harnisch F, Angenent LT (2015) Microbial electrochemistry and technology: terminology and classification. Energy Environ Sci 8:513–519. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4EE03359K
Shi W, Sun H (2002) Type IV pilus-dependent motility and its possible role in bacterial pathogenesis. Infect Immun 70:1–4
Shi L, Richardson DJ, Wang Z, Kerisit SN, Rosso KM, Zachara JM, Fredrickson JK (2009) The roles of outer membrane cytochromes of Shewanella and Geobacter in extracellular electron transfer. Environ Microbiol Rep 1:220–227
Slate AJ, Whitehead KA, Brownson DAC, Banks CE (2019) Microbial fuel cells: an overview of current technology. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 101:60–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.09.044
Strycharz SM, Woodard TL, Johnson JP, Nevin KP, Sanford RA, Löffler FE, Lovley DR (2008) Graphite electrode as a sole electron donor for reductive dechlorination of tetrachlorethene by Geobacter lovleyi. Appl Environ Microbiol 74:5943–5947. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00961-08
Sure S, Torriero AAJ, Gaur A, Li LH, Chen Y, Tripathi C, Adholeya A, Ackland ML, Kochar M (2015) Inquisition of Microcystis aeruginosa and Synechocystis nanowires: characterization and modelling. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 108:1213–1225
Sure S, Ackland ML, Torriero AAJ, Adholeya A, Kochar M (2016) Microbial nanowires: an electrifying tale. Microbiology 162:2017–2028. https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.000382
Sydow A, Krieg T, Mayer F, Schrader J, Holtmann D (2014) Electroactive bacteria—molecular mechanisms and genetic tools. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98:8481–8495
Tandukar M, Huber SJ, Onodera T, Pavlostathis SG (2009) Biological chromium(VI) reduction in the cathode of a microbial fuel cell. Environ Sci Technol 43:8159–8165. https://doi.org/10.1021/es9014184
Thauer RK, Jungermann K, Decker K (1977) Energy conservation in chemotrophic anaerobic bacteria. Bacteriol Rev 41:100–180
Torres CI, Marcus AK, Lee H-S, Parameswaran P, Krajmalnik-Brown R, Rittmann BE (2010) A kinetic perspective on extracellular electron transfer by anode-respiring bacteria. FEMS Microbiol Rev 34:3–17
Vega CA, Fernández I (1987) Mediating effect of ferric chelate compounds in microbial fuel cells with Lactobacillus plantarum, Streptococcus lactis, and Erwinia dissolvens. Bioelectrochem Bioenerg 17:217–222
Walter XA, Stinchcombe A, Greenman J, Ieropoulos I (2017) Urine transduction to usable energy: a modular MFC approach for smartphone and remote system charging. Appl Energy 192:575–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.06.006
Wang H, Ren ZJ (2014) Bioelectrochemical metal recovery from wastewater: a review. Water Res 66:219–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.08.013
Wang Y, Wang A, Zhou A, Liu W, Huang L, Xu M, Tao H (2014) Electrode as sole electrons donor for enhancing decolorization of azo dye by an isolated Pseudomonas sp. WYZ-2. Bioresour Technol 152:530–533
Winaikij P, Sreearunothai P, Sombatmankhong K (2018) Probing mechanisms for microbial extracellular electron transfer (EET) using electrochemical and microscopic characterisations. Solid State Ionics 320:283–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssi.2018.02.044
Wu S, Xiao Y, Wang L, Zheng Y, Chang K, Zheng Z, Yang Z, Varcoe JR, Zhao F (2014) Extracellular electron transfer mediated by flavins in Gram-positive Bacillus sp. WS-XY1 and yeast Pichia stipitis. Electrochim Acta 146:564–567
Yates MD, Golden JP, Roy J, Strycharz-Glaven SM, Tsoi S, Erickson JS, El-Naggar MY, Barton SC, Tender LM (2015) Thermally activated long range electron transport in living biofilms. Phys Chem Chem Phys 17:32564–32570
Yates MD, Strycharz-Glaven SM, Golden JP, Roy J, Tsoi S, Erickson JS, El-Naggar MY, Barton SC, Tender LM (2016) Measuring conductivity of living Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilms. Nat Nanotechnol 11:910
Yates MD, Eddie BJ, Lebedev N, Kotloski NJ, Strycharz-Glaven SM, Tender LM (2018) On the relationship between long-distance and heterogeneous electron transfer in electrode-grown Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilms. Bioelectrochemistry 119:111–118
Yi H, Nevin KP, Kim B, Franks AE, Klimes A, Tender LM, Lovley DR (2009) Selection of a variant of Geobacter sulfurreducens with enhanced capacity for current production in microbial fuel cells. Biosens Bioelectron 24:3498–3503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2009.05.004
Zehnder AJB, Svensson BH (1986) Life without oxygen: what can and what cannot? Experientia 42:1197–1205. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01946391
Zhang F, He Z (2012) Integrated organic and nitrogen removal with electricity generation in a tubular dual-cathode microbial fuel cell. Process Biochem 47:2146–2151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2012.08.002
Acknowledgements
The author dedicates this work to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Founder Chancellor of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning.
Funding
No funding was received for this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
KA conceptualized the idea for the article and wrote the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
The author declares that he has no conflicts of interest.
Research involving human participants and/or animals
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by the author.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aiyer, K.S. How does electron transfer occur in microbial fuel cells?. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 36, 19 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-020-2801-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-020-2801-z