Abstract
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) offer a novel method
of energy recovery from wastewater and have evolved to derive energy and products from
biomass and organic waste. Originally, MFCs were developed to produce electricity from
degradable organic matter present in wastewaters.1 Subsequently, microbial electrolysis
emerged as a means of producing hydrogen, methane, and other products from the aqueous
wastes.2,3 In a biorefinery, hydrogen has many uses, and its production from renewable
resources derived from biomass can have significant environmental benefits. It can be used
as a reagent to upgrade the biofuel to a higher octane fuel or to hydrogenate intermediates to
higher value chemicals or as an alternate fuel itself.