The Oxygen Paradox in Microbial Fuel Cells

Microbial fuel cells harness electrons from bacterial oxidation of substrates and have the potential to address two of the major sustainability issues that confront the globe - production of clean energy and wastewater treatment. Relentless multi-disciplinary efforts have opened up possibilities of enhancing efficiency of these systems in terms of performance and cost-effectiveness. Detailed studies on individual components provide fundamental insights for performance assessment. Oxygen, an integral component of bioelectrochemical systems, assumes contrasting inhibitory and supportive roles at the anode and cathode respectively.