Microbial Desalination Cell (MDC): A Next-Generation Environmental Technology for Wastewater Treatment and Bioelectricity Generation

There are many high-performance desalination systems in use today, but almost all of them have a high energy requirement for operation as their principal drawback. However, taking MDCs into real applications may decrease environmental pollution, water shortages, energy consumption, and operating costs to be the greatest alternative to tackle these challenges. The MDC, a bioelectrochemical system (BES), is a development of the MFC technology. Utilizing the exoelectrogenic microbes found in effluents which transform biochemical energy locked in organic compounds into electrical energy facilitates the functioning of MDCs by treating water and wastewater, desalinating seawater, and producing electricity. However, the scaling-up initiative has been progressing gradually, which has left a disparity of knowledge for bringing MDC technology into the real world. This chapter discusses the fundamentals of MDC, it's microbiology, functioning, various configurations, and environmental applications in wastewater treatment and bioelectricity generation to serve as a reference for future studies investigating effective ways to desalinate water and wastewater and produce bioelectricity. To keep readers informed, the developments, challenges, and opportunities in MDC technology are also described.