Role of Algae in Microbial Fuel Cell and the Production of Value Added Products
摘要
Microalgae biomass is one of the sustainable and renewable sources, mainly used in biorefineries for the production of biofuels. Photosynthetic microbial fuel cell (PMFC) could be an alternative method for microalgae biomass production as it can be run using wastewater as a feeding source. Different configurations of PMFC were already explored to optimize the growth and biomass production. Microalgae remove the total carbon, N, and P from the wastewater and convert it into biomass. The production of O2 in the cathodic chamber of PMFC also reduces the cost of aeration. Harvested microalgae biomass from the cathodic chamber is used to extract different metabolites such as fatty acids, essential oil, vitamins, polysaccharides, polyphenolic compounds. These metabolites are used in different industrial sectors such as food, agriculture feed, cosmetics, biorefineries, and cosmetics. Mass culturing of microalgae in PMFC rendered the process of biomass production cost-effective as simultaneously helped to treat wastewater and produce bio-electricity. However, biomass production at the pilot scale in PMFC still remains challenging and needs a lot of optimizations.