Bioelectricity production from paper industry waste using a microbial fuel cell by Clostridium species

Renewable energy is an increasing need in our society. Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology represents a new form of renewable energy by generating electricity from what would otherwise be considered waste. It is possible to directly generate electricity-using bacteria while accomplishing wastewater treatment in processes based on microbial fuel cell technologies. When bacteria oxidize a substrate, they remove electrons. Electric current generation is made possible by keeping bacteria separated from oxygen, but allowing the bacteria growing on an anode to transfer electrons to the counter electrode (cathode) that is exposed to air. In this report, the cellulosic waste was utilized for the bioelectricity production by Clostridium acetobutylicum and Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum. Keywords: Bacteria, Clostridium acetobutylicum, Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum, Electricity, Microbial fuel cell. Received: 28 January 2009 / Received in revised form: 5 February 2009, Accepted: 5 February 2009, Published online: 25 February 2009