Research Article Open Access Gude et al., J Microbial Biochem Technol 2013, S6 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/1948-5948.S6-005 Research Article Open Access Microbial & Biochemical Technology J Microb Biochem Technol ISSN:1948-5948 JMBT, an open access journal Biofuel Cells and Bioelectrochemical systems *Corresponding author: Venkataramana Gadhamshetty, Environmental Engineering, Florida Gulf Coast University, USA, Tel: 1 239 590 7647; Fax: 1 239 590 7801; E-mail: vgadhamshetty@fgcu.edu Received April 01, 2013; Accepted July 23, 2013; Published July 26, 2013 Citation: Gude VG, Kokabian B, Gadhamshetty V (2013) Beneicial Bioelectrochemical Systems for Energy, Water, and Biomass Production. J Microb Biochem Technol S6: 005. doi:10.4172/1948-5948.S6-005 Copyright: © 2013 Gude VG, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited Abstract The major insecurities facing the modern world are tied to depleting fuel reserves and rising greenhouse gas emissions. A quest for clean and renewable fuels has invigorated research efforts in both developed and developing countries. Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology has been promoted as an innovative application of microbes for producing sustainable energy from organic waste streams emerging from a variety of waste sources. The latest scientiic discoveries in MFC technology provide a framework for multitude of MXC technologies, ranging from Microbial Desalination Cells (MDCs) used in desalination of brackish water; Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs) used for production of hydrogen; and microbial solar cells (MSCs) for sequestration of carbon dioxide from atmospheric and anthropogenic sources. The MXCs demonstrate a potential for sustainable water treatment and clean energy production under environmentally benign conditions. This article provides a critical overview of MXCs with a special focus on MDCs. Beneficial Bioelectrochemical Systems for Energy, Water, and Biomass Production Veera Gnaneswar Gude 1 , Bahareh Kokabian 1 and Venkataramana Gadhamshetty 2 * 1 Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mississippi State University, USA 2 Environmental Engineering, Florida Gulf Coast University, USA Keywords: Microbial Fuel cells, Desalination, Sustainable Energy, Microbial Desalination Cells, Microbial Solar Cells, Algae Introduction Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) operate in a galvanic mode: they employ microbial catalysts to extract oxidation current from waste organic matter in the anodic half-cell; and use chemical catalysts in the cathodic half-cell to consume electrons in the presence of protons and terminal electron acceptor. he anode can be designed for treatment of municipal waste streams, and high-strength organic wastes emerging from cattle farms, breweries, landills, chocolate factories, and food processors[1-6] while the reducing conditions in the cathodic half- cell provide a legitimate route for treating oxidized contaminants (e.g. nitrates and chromium)in water bodies [7]. he cathodes have been demonstrated for treatment of perchlorate [8], uranium (UVI) [9], and chlorinated compounds (e.g. chloro ethene, 2-chlorophenol, and pentachlorophenol) [10,11]. MXCs refer to new bioelectrochemical systems that share the principles of MFCs, with a slight variation in the anode and/or cathode coniguration. For instance, Microbial desalination cell (MDC) is a variant of MFC which includes an additional middle chamber for sustainable energy production (from organic wastes) and water desalination. he MDCs can be designed for treatment of organic waste and simultaneous desalination of saltwater [12]. Other versions of MXCs include microbial electrolysis cell (MECs), microbial reverse-electrodialysis cell (MRC), and microbial solar cell (MSC). he MRCs produce electric power from entropic energy based on the salinity diference between seawater and river water [13]; the MECs deliver hydrogen, or methane from organic wastes [14,15]; MSCs use photosynthetic bacteria to convert solar energy into electricity [16], all with the aid of tiny microbes and sustainable waste matter. Modest amount of literature exists in the domains of microbial fuel cell research. Palmore and White sides summarized biological fuel cell concepts and performance up to 1992. Logan provided detailed review on the basic operation, materials, and architecture of MFC technology upto 2007 [17]. Details on the scale-up prospects of MFC technology have been recently reported in the scientiic literature [18]. Torres et al. reported a perspective on extracellular electron transfer by anode- respiring bacteria [19]. Venkatamohan et al. have investigated the performance of MFCs with non-catalyzed MFCs [20]. Rabaey and Verstraete discussed the aspects of electron transfer, metabolism and energy losses in MFCs [21]. A state of the art review on MFC technology for wastewater treatment has been provided by Du et al. [22]. He et al. [7] provided comprehensive details on the experimental progress of biocathodes in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Rabaey & Verstraete [21] described the mechanisms of electron transfer in the anode, while Rishman-Yazdi et al. [23] summarized the factors relevant to cathodic limitations in MFCs. Pham et al. provided a critical comparison of the conventional AD technology and the MFC technology [24]. Schroder et al. discussed the electron transfer processes in MFCs [25,26]. Kim and Logan published a irst review article that describes the research progress of microbial desalination technology [12]. his article does not replicate these valuable contributions, and instead, updates recent advances on emerging MXCs that build upon the R&D framework of MFC technology. his article focuses on the development of microbial desalination cell and microbial solar cell technology in recent years. A Brief History on Mxcs During 18 th century, Luigi Galvani provided the irst experimental evidence on bioelectricity by recording the electric response obtained from connecting frog legs to a metallic conductor [27]. In 1911, Michael C. Potter demonstrated the electric current production through microbial oxidation of non-electrolytes (e.g organic compounds) [28]. In 1931, Barnett Cohen reconirmed Potter’s results by producing 0.2 mA current by poising a half cell at +0.5 V using a potentiostat