Electricity generation from sewage sludge and its stabilization in microbial fuel cell

With the increasing concern about the serious global energy crisis and high energy consumption during sludge treatment in a wastewater treatment plant, microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been recognized as a promising resource utilization approach for excess sludge stabilization with simultaneous electricity energy recovery from sewage sludge. In contrast to the conventional sludge stabilization processes, the MFC has its unique advantages such as high energy-conversion efficiency and mild reaction conditions (e.g., ambient temperature, normal pressure, and neutral pH). This chapter mainly introduces some important aspects of electricity generation from sewage sludge and its stabilization in microbial fuel cell, focusing on: (1) MFC fundamentals, configuration design and performance; (2) MFC start-up, operation and influence factors; (3) Effect of sludge pretreatment (viz., ultrasonic, alkaline and freezing/thawing etc.) on MFC performance; Degradation of sludge organic matter and characteristic changes in MFC; (5) Stabilization of dewatered sludge in MFC with simultaneous power generation.