The three-compartment microbial fuel cell: a new sustainable approach to bioelectricity generation from lignocellulosic biomass

Herein, we report a new strategy for the simultaneous degradation of lignocellulosic biomass and bioelectricity generation using a novel three-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC). Oscillatoria annae, a freshwater cyanobacterium, was used for the hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose. The electrocatalytic activity of the coculture of Acetobacter aceti and Gluconobacter roseus was used to oxidize the glucose for current generation in the MFC. Carbon felt was used as the anode and cathode material. Lignocellulosic materials such as sugarcane bagasse and corn cob were used as substrates. The performances of the MFC with two different substrates were analyzed by polarization studies, coulombic efficiency, percentage of COD removal and internal resistance. The three-chamber MFC produced a maximum power output of 8.78 W/m³ at 20.95 A/m³ and 6.73 W/m³ at 17.28 A/m³ with sugarcane bagasse and corn cob as substrates, respectively.