Soil Microbial Fuel Cells for Energy Harvesting and Bioremediation of Soil Contaminated with Organic Pollutants

Intensive industrial and agricultural activities, uncontrolled waste disposal and environmental accidents, such as oil spills, put our ecosystems under increasing threats. Bioremediation strategies, such as bioaugmentation, biostimulation, and phytoremediation, represent, therefore, a particularly attractive alternative to chemical treatments. The electrochemical performance of soil microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) depends on many factors such as: electrode material; design configuration; and soil properties including porosity, temperature, pH, conductivity, organic matter content and nature, and moisture condition. The properties of the soil markedly influence the performance of SMFCs. In addition to other bioremediation strategies, SMFCs can provide an effective means to effectively treat soils contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic hydrocarbons, pesticides, and chlorophenols. SMFC technology has great potential for soil bioremediation associated with the generation of clean energy. The current generated could be used to power low-power electrical devices, such as sensors that monitor soil/environment condition over time.