A mini review on biofouling on air cathode of single chamber microbial fuel cell; prevention and mitigation strategies

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have gained considerable interests due to their potential for bioenergy generation from the biocatalytic conversion of a broad diversity of organic wastes. However, low power generation and high material cost in MFCs posed challenges to modify the system in terms of materials and configurations. Membrane-less design of single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) with air breathing cathode is one of the most practical configuration for large-scale implementation due to simplicity, low capital cost and needless of aeration energy while producing the high power output. However, the formation of aerobic bacterial biofilm (biofouling) on the surface of catalysts coated air cathode during long-term operation reduced the system performance and increased the internal resistance. Therefore, suitable prevention and mitigation strategies were required to be addressed and applied. This study summarized the strategies that were applied recently and potential to be applied in future to prevent biofouling formation on the air cathode in SCMFC. The article also reviewed the cleaning methods and catalysts regeneration techniques on the air cathode to maintain long-term stability and performance.