Bioresource Technology 198 (2015) 891–895

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Bioresource Technology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biortech

Review

Microalgae–microbial fuel cell: A mini review

Duu-Jong Lee a,b,⇑, Jo-Shu Chang c, Juin-Yih Lai d
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
b
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan
c
Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
d
R&D Center for Membrane Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chungli, Taiwan

h i g h l i g h t s g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t

Current status of R&D works on

e- e-
LOAD
microalgae–microbial fuel cells is
listed. Anode Anode Cathode

Limitations of microalgal and MFC Respiring
Bacteria CEM Aached algae
processes are discussed.

Challenges and prospects for Feed Algae
e--donors
commercialization of mMFC are e- H2O
e- SUN
highlighted.
O2
H-

Oxidized forms CO2

+ CO2 + H-

Residue

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Microalgae–microbial fuel cells (mMFCs) are a device that can convert solar energy to electrical energy
Received 6 September 2015 via biological pathways. This mini-review lists new research and development works on microalgae
Received in revised form 11 September 2015 processes, microbial fuel cell (MFC) processes, and their combined version, mMFC. The substantial
Accepted 13 September 2015
improvement and technological advancement are highlighted, with a discussion on the challenges and
Available online 25 September 2015
prospects for possible commercialization of mMFC technologies.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
CO2 sequestration
Commercialization
Microalgae
Microbial fuel cell
Technical obstacles

1. Introduction freshwater biology (3069), energy fuels (1956), and environmental

sciences (1431), and with authors from United States and China
Numerous studies were reported on all aspects of microalgae contributing about 28% of these published papers. In all platforms,
processes. The Web of ScienceTM database search using topic of Bioresource Technology ranked top in number of microalgae
‘‘microalgae” on 2015.09.06 led to a total of 12,548 papers, in fields papers published (1066), followed by Journal of Phycology (487)
such as biotechnology applied microbiology (3617), marine and Marine Ecology Progress Series (281). The number of these
papers in the sub-category ‘‘biofuels or biorefinery” is 1816, which
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Chemical Engineering, National had received over 35,000 citations, with about 8600 and 11,000
Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 2 26325632; fax: +886 2 hits in 2013 and 2014, respectively, suggesting that this research
23623040. topic is of current focus. Relevant review articles with >600
E-mail address: djlee@ntu.edu.tw (D.-J. Lee).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2015.09.061
0960-8524/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
892 D.-J. Lee et al. / Bioresource Technology 198 (2015) 891–895

e- e-
LOAD

Anode Anode Cathode

Respiring
Bacteria CEM Aached algae

Feed Algae
e--donors
e- H2O
e- SUN

O2
H-

Oxidized forms CO2

+ CO2 + H-

Residue

Fig. 1. Schematic of microalgae–microbial fuel cells. Dash lines indicate possible integration of anodic and cathodic chambers with carbon flows.

citations are available (Chisti, 2007, 2008; Hu et al., 2008; Mata 2011), algae are considered a potential carbon sink in removing
et al., 2010; Brennan and Owende, 2010). overloaded carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Similar search on the topic of microbial fuel cells (MFC) on The production scheme for algal products starts with algal
2015.06.15 led to a total of 4558 papers. These papers received strain development and cultivation, harvesting via algal biomass
over 110,000 citations, with about 18,000 and 21,700 hits in separation or screening from the broth, and subsequent thickening,
2013 and 2014, respectively, suggesting that this research topic dewatering and drying, post-processing (may include oil extraction
is also a field of current focus. Relevant review articles with >700 and fractionation) (Chen et al., 2011). Autotrophic growth of algal
citations are listed (Logan et al., 2006; Bond and Lovley, 2003; cells is limited by the light sources. Under intensive light the
Rabaey and Verstraete, 2005; Liu and Logan, 2004). growth of cells is limited; while at high algal cells density the light
Researches on microalgae and on MFC were intensively con- penetration depth can be only a few millimeters from light
ducted (Raschitor et al., 2015; Mendoza et al., 2015; Yu et al., receiving surface. Hence, a photoreactor with large specific area
2015; Chen et al., 2015; Wieczorek et al., 2015), with their integra- (surface area per unit reactor volume) and with appropriate light
tion leading to the development of microalgae-MFC (mMFC) (Cao intensity is required (Lin et al., 2015b).
et al., 2009). The mMFC (Fig. 1) containing photosynthetic microor- Algal harvesting is applied to concentrate algal cells by
ganisms are capable of converting solar energy into electricity removing as much water as possible in an economically viable
through the metabolic reactions of photosynthetic microorganisms manner (Chen et al., 1996). Microbial cells have simple cellular
(Bombelli et al., 2011). In addition to bioelectricity generation, construction at rapid cell growth, which mostly grow in the motile
mMFCs can also sequestrate CO2 from air and remove nitrogen unicellular state to be cumbersome to harvest (Show et al., 2013).
contaminants from waters (Wang et al., 2010; Li et al., 2012). High concentration of metallic coagulants could affect the quality
This mini-review lists recent studies on microalgae process, of the final product (Utomo et al., 2013). Subsequent processing
MFC process and mMFC, from which the current R&D trends on needs excess chemicals that poses challenge to reduce cost of
this interesting integrated system can be demonstrated. Since product separation and solvent recovery (Dismukes et al., 2008;
the mMFC device combines both photoreactor for microalgae Reijnders, 2008). Expensive processes were proposed for avoiding
cultivation and MFC (Rosenbaum et al., 2010), it has advantages the pre-drying stage (Jazzar et al., 2015; Im et al., 2015; Park
and disadvantages of both processes (Elmekawy et al., 2014; Xiao et al., 2015).
and He, 2014; Mao and Verwoerd, 2013). This mini-review lists
the limitations for both processes, based on which the challenges
and prospects of mMFC are outlined. 3. Microbial fuel cells

The beauty of MFC technologies is the capability of direct

converting chemical energy to electrical energy via biological
2. Microalgae processes pathway, thereby allowing it the biological adaption to handling
various chemical substrates at different concentrations.
Algae have been identified by many researchers as a promising The main obstacles to apply MFC in practical use included the
resource for biofuel and biochemicals production (Chisti, 2007; high installation/operation costs (with the use of expensive proton
Deirue et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2012; Chen et al., 2013; Lin et al., exchange membrane (PEM) and the Pt-implemented cathode, and
2015a; Show et al., 2013, 2015; Tran et al., 2013; Yen et al., the use of mediators in catholyte for enhancing electron transfer
2013). As algae biomass was capable of producing much more oil efficiency) and low power outputs (generally of a few tens to a
yield per unit cultivation area than other biomass such as corn few watts per m2 of electrode surface area, much lower than
and soybean, production of algal biodiesel has drawn interest of chemical MFC of 104 W/m2). Research efforts were devoted to
scientists because of its potential prospect for practical application. reduce the costs of MFC technologies with refinement of the MFC
As carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration via algae was one to two architecture (Chisti, 2008), application of single-chamber design
orders of magnitude higher than terrestrial plants (Ho et al., to remove the need of PEM (Liu and Logan, 2004), and the use of
 D.-J. Lee et al. / Bioresource Technology 198 (2015) 891–895 893

biocathode to replace the Pt-catalytic cathode (Zhang et al., 2015a). cathodic surface or indirectly receiving the electrons via produced
These efforts had increased the power outputs from less than O2 molecules is to be confirmed (Freguia et al., 2010).
10 mW/m2 to >1 W/m2. In certain liter-scale tests the Ohm resis- A few studies (Cui et al., 2014; Kondaveeti et al., 2014; Rashid
tance of electron transfer over the whole MFC has been reduced et al., 2013) tested the mMFC with live green algae growing in
to a few tens ohms, suggesting that only few can be done to further cathode chamber and dead microalgae biomass as substrate for
reducing the external resistances of the MFC cells by optimizing anodic biofilm. These tests, if succeeded, may lead to possible
the hydrodynamic and mass transfer factors (Zhang et al., 2015b, use of the biomass generated in Eq. (4) as feed (organics) in
c). Restated, further increase the power output is limited by the Eq. (3) so a zero-carbon discharge scheme can be realized.
inherent nature of exoelectrogens. As practiced in regular MFC, a natural extension of the mMFC
Recently, the possible use of MFC devices as pollutant treatment process was applied anodic chamber for pollutant removal (Li
unit is studied. For instance, if an MFC was started up with sulfate- et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2011; He et al., 2009). The anodic biofilm
reducing bacteria (SBR) and the electrogens, the so established plays the same role as regular MFC to receive electrons from elec-
SBR-MFC can convert sulfate and chemical oxygen demand (COD) tron donors, the pollutants. We can expect that most pollutants
in wastewater to elementary sulfur and CO2, respectively (Lee reported to be removable in MFCs such as sulfide or organic
et al., 2012a,b, 2014). Some studies revealed that the MFC can con- matters in landfill leachate should be applicable to mMFC units.
vert sulfide to elementary sulfur, with sulfide as the single electron Wu et al. (2014) investigated the effects of light intensity on the
donor for anode (Sun et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2012a,b). Another cathodic resistance of Desmodesmus sp. A8-MFC. These authors
example of using MFC for pollutant control is to apply it in treat- proposed that the DO content at cathodic chamber was increased
ment of landfill leachate (Zhang et al., 2015b,c).The use of a 3.5-L under photosynthesis which presented the principal factor
membraneless MFC with biocathode to remove 90% COD and 99% determining the cathodic resistance. Also, Wu et al. (2013)
NH+4 at 3 kg COD m3 d1 loading and 24-h hydraulic retention revealed that intermittent illumination benefits the operation of
time, a remarkable achievement by the tested MFC technologies MFC with C. vulgaris biocathode. Continuous illumination would
on pollution treatment tests. Recently, the consistency of MFC shorten the microalgal life time.
started up using identical protocol has been proposed to be poor
(Weng and Lee, 2015), which needs further research works for
resolving this possible threat for the MFC technologies. 5. Challenges and prospects

The mMFCs have advantages and disadvantages of both

4. Microalgae–microbial fuel cells
microalgae and MFC processes. To have economically feasible
mMFC, most technical obstacles by both microalgal process and
In an MFC CO2 can be produced at anodic chamber as the
MFC processes need to be removed.
oxidized product of organic feeds while electron acceptor such as
The mMFC should need large surface area for light receiving at
O2 or ferricyanide is needed at cathode chamber to receive the
cathodic chamber while the subsequent harvesting and post-
excess protons from anodic chamber and electrons from the
processing of the cultivated cells would be costly. Microalgae can
external circuit. Restated,at anode,
grow under various conditions; however, CO2 sequestration pre-
Organics ! CO2 þ Hþ ðto cathodeÞ þ e ðexternal circuitÞ ð1Þ fers autotrophic growth for algal cell cultivation, whose rate is,
however, limited by the light sources. Under intensive light the
at cathode, growth of cells is inhibited; while at high algal cells density the
light penetration depth in the reactor can be only a few millimeters
O2 þ Hþ ðfrom cathodeÞ þ e ðexternal circuitÞ ! H2 O ð2Þ that largely decelerate cell growth. Hence, a photo-cathodic cham-
Th ese half two reactions lead to overall reaction as ber with large specific area (surface area per unit reactor volume)
and with appropriate light intensity is needed (Lin et al., 2015b):
Organics þ O2 ! CO2 þ H2 O þ external power ð3Þ with the former the chamber should have a large foot print while
with the latter, open cultivation at varying light intensity is not
a process converting chemical energy to electrical energy. In a encouraged. These constraints yield a high production and opera-
microalgae photoreactor the unicellular chlorophyll-containing tional costs for running a mNFC.
algal cells convert CO2 with the help of incident light to biomass At anode, the Columbic efficiency for substrate utilization and
and O2. Restated, performance consistency by identical startup protocol is low. The
efficiency at anodic biofilm will pose limit to the efficiency of
CO2 þ H2 O þ light ! biomass þ O2 ð4Þ
whole mMFC with low surface density of cells by a factor of
The photosynthesis reaction by the Chlorella vulgaris in the 101, electron transfer resistance in biofilm by another factor of
cathodic chamber released oxygen to the suspension or these 101, and the intracellular and extracellular mass transfer
microalgal cells could serve as electron acceptor (Powell et al., gradients built up in the anodic biofilm which can be serious at
2009; Wang et al., 2010; Kakaria and Min, 2014a,b). Wu et al. MFC larger than liter size (Zhang et al., 2015b,c). After geometry
(2013) detailed the relationship between cell voltage and dissolved and hydrodynamic environment optimization, ultimate limits by
oxygen (DO) for an mMFC. These authors noted that the concentra- exoelectrogenic cells come into play. At ‘‘high” current regime
tion of DO has a clear positive correlation with the voltage output. MFCs often encounter power-overshoot problem: both cell voltage
As proposed in MFC studies, the algae biocathode was tested in and electrical current decrease at decreasing external loads
mMFC (Liu et al., 2013; Juang et al., 2012; Gonzalez del Campo (Ieropoulos et al., 2010; Nien et al., 2011). Power overshoot is from
et al., 2013; Mohan et al., 2013). Cao et al. (2009) applied a cell failure at high current loading which may be produced by the
photo-biocathode for CO2 reduction in a completely anoxic mMFC. local accumulation of protons to limit extracellular electron trans-
Hence, microalgae existing in suspended or attached form in fer rate. The mMFC cannot have a power output higher than the
cathodic chamber could be applicable for mMFC applications. ceiling value affordable by anodic biofilm, which is generally of
Additionally, McCormick et al. (2011) revealed that the presence order a few hundred mW/m2.
of microalgae reduced the over-potential on cathodic surface. In the mMFC, ideally when all yielded CO2 produced by anodic
However, whether the algal cells directly receiving electrons from biofilm can be consumed by microalgal cells in cathodic chamber
894 D.-J. Lee et al. / Bioresource Technology 198 (2015) 891–895

in the presence of light, while all so-yielded O2 can be served as the Chen, C.Y., Kao, P.C., Tsai, C.J., Lee, D.J., Chang, J.S., 2013. Engineering strategies for
simultaneous enhancement of C-phycocyanin production and CO2 fixation with
electron acceptors needed for the cathodic chamber, then the
Spirulina platensis. Bioresour. Technol. 145, 307–312.
overall reaction in the mMFC becomes: Chen, C.L., Huang, C.C., Ho, K.C., Hsiao, P.X., Wu, M.S., Chang, J.S., 2015. Biodiesel
production from wet microalgae feedstock using sequential wet
Organics þ light ! biomass þ external power ð5Þ extraction/transesterification and direct transesterification processes.
Bioresour. Technol. 194, 179–186.
Restated, the mMFC is a device to directly convert light energy Chen, G.W., Lin, W.W., Lee, D.J., 1996. Capillary suction time (CST) as a measure of
to electrical energy via biological pathway (Bombelli et al., 2011), sludge dewaterability. Water Sci. Technol. 34 (3–4), 443–448.
Chisti, Y., 2007. Biodiesel from microalgae. Biotechnol. Adv. 25, 294–306.
or a bio-photovoltaic cell with minimal generation of CO2. The
Chisti, Y., 2008. Biodiesel from microalgae beats bioethanol. Trends Biotechnol. 26,
possible use of the biomass generated in Eq. (5) as feed (organics) 126–131.
so a zero-carbon discharge scheme can be realized. However, to Cui, Y.F., Rashid, N., Hu, N.X., Rehman, M.S., Han, J.I., 2014. Electricity generation and
realize this proposal, the production and consumption rates of microalgae cultivation in microbial fuel cell using microalgae-enriched anode
and bio-cathode. Energy Convers. Manage. 79, 674–680.
CO2, O2, and biomass have to be balanced in the system. The Deirue, F., Seiter, P.A., Sahut, C., Cournac, L., Roubltier, G., Froment, A.K., 2012. An
control of these fluxes will be a challenge for full-scale operation. economic, sustainability, and energenic model of biodiesel production from
The encouraging news is that all current R&D efforts to enhance microalgae. Bioresour. Technol. 112, 191–200.
Dismukes, G.C., Carrieri, D., Bennette, N., Ananyev, G.M., Posewitz, M.C., 2008.
MFC power output and to increase quantum efficiency for microal- Aquatic phototrophs: efficient alternatives to land-based crops for biofuels.
gal cultivation should also work for improving efficiency of mMFC. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 19, 235–240.
Full-scale mMFCs have not been installed. Owing to the light Elmekawy, A., Hegab, H.M., Vanbroekhoven, K., Pant, D., 2014. Techno-productive
potential of photosynthetic microbial fuel cells through different
source constraint, the feasible scenario for mMFC application configurations. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 39, 617–627.
may be the installation of anodic chamber besides the large scale Freguia, S., Tsujimura, S., Kano, K., 2010. Electron transfer pathways in microbial
microalgal cultivation plants but not vice versa. The reduced costs oxygen biocathodes. Electrochim. Acta 55, 813–818.
Gonzalez del Campo, A., Canizares, P., Rodrigo, M.A., Fernandez, F.J., Lobato, J., 2013.
for CO2 supply and aeration for mMFC should be welcome for such Microbial fuel cell with an algae-assisted cathode: preliminary assessment. J.
an addition. A field concern is the very different time constants for Power Sources 242, 638–645.
individual processes and very different toxicity thresholds for dis- He, Z., Kan, J., Mansfeld, F., Angenent, L.T., Nealson, K.H., 2009. Self sustained
phototrophic microbial fuel cells based on the synergistic cooperation between
tinct microorganism groups to feed concentrations involved in
photosynthetic microorganisms and heterotrophic bacteria. Environ. Sci.
mMFC that make the control impractical. The mMFC as a platform Technol. 43, 1648–1654.
for biofuel/biochemical production (extracted from cultivated Ho, S.H., Chen, C.Y., Lee, D.J., Chang, J.S., 2011. Perspectives on microalgae CO2-
emission mitigation systems – a review. Biotechnol. Adv. 29, 189–198.
microalgal cells) using organics in wastewater and residue after
Ieropoulos, I., Winfield, J., Greenman, J., 2010. Effects of flow-rate, inoculum and
algal extraction as anodic feeds should also be beneficial to balance time on the internal resistance of microbial fuel cells. Bioresour. Technol. 101,
the finance. A rigorous techno-economic analysis considering use 3520–3525.
of land, water and emission of greenhouse gas (GHG) was neces- Hu, Q., Sommerfeld, M., Jarvis, E., Ghirardi, M., Posewitz, M., Seibert, M., Darzins, A.,
2008. Microbial triacylglycerols as feedstocks for biofuel production:
sary to draw a clearer prospect comparison between use of mMFC perspectives and advances. Plant J. 54, 621–639.
or individual microalgae and MFC units. Further research and Im, H., Kim, B., Lee, J.W., 2015. Concurrnet production of biodiesel and chemicals
development are needed to make mMFC a practical device for use. through wet in situ transesterification of microalgae. Bioresour. Technol. 193,
386–392.
Jazzar, S., Quesada-Medina, J., Olivares-Carrillo, P., Marzouki, M.N., Acien-
6. Conclusions Fernandez, F.G., Fernandez-Sevilla, J.M., Molina-Grima, E., Smaali, I., 2015. A
whole biodiesel conversion process combining isolation, cultivation and in situ
supercritical methanol transesterification of native microalgae. Bioresour.
There have been substantial improvement and technological Technol. 190, 281–288.
advancement in the microalgae and MFC processes. The develop- Juang, D.F., Lee, C.H., Hsueh, S.C., 2012. Comparison of electrogenic capabilities of
microbial fuel cell with different light power on algae growth on cathode.
ments on mFMC applications, a device combining microalgal culti- Bioresour. Technol. 123, 23–29.
vation as cathodic chamber and conventional anodic chamber Kakaria, R., Min, B., 2014a. Photoautotrophic microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus
handing electron donors as fuel, provide a new pathway converting attached on a cathode as oxygen producers for microbial fuel cell (MFC)
operation. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 39, 10275–10283.
light energy to electrical energy with minimal generation of CO2. Kakaria, R., Min, B., 2014b. Evaluation of microbial fuel cell operation using algae as
This mini-review discussed the current status of developments an oxygen supplier: carbon paper cathode vs. carbon brush cathode. Bioprocess.
and challenges and prospects for further R&D needs on the mMFC Biosyst. Eng. 37, 2453–2461.
Kondaveeti, S., Choi, K.S., Kakarla, R., Min, B., 2014. Microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus
technologies.
as renewable biomass feedstock for electricity generation in microbial fuel cells
(MFCs). Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 8, 784–791.
Acknowledgement Lee, C.Y., Ho, K.L., Lee, D.J., Su, A., Chang, J.S., 2012a. Electricity harvest from nitrate/
sulfide-containing wastewaters using microbial fuel cell with autotrophic
denitrifier, Pseudomonas sp. C27. Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 37, 15827–15832.
Financial supports from Ministry of Science and Technology Lee, D.J., Lee, C.Y., Chang, J.S., 2012b. Treatment and electricity harvesting from
(MOST), Taiwan is highly appreciated. sulfate/sulfide-containing wastewaters using microbial fuel cell with enriched
sulfate-reducing mixed culture. J. Hazard. Mater. 243, 67–72.
Lee, D.J., Liu, X., Weng, H.L., 2014. Sulfate and organic carbon removal by microbial
References fuel cell with sulfate-reducing bacteria and sulfide-oxidising bacteria anodic
biofilm. Bioresour. Technol. 156, 14–19.
Li, X., John, A.B., He, Z., 2012. Integrated photo-bioelectrochemical system for
Bombelli, P., Bradley, R.W., Scott, A.M., Philips, A.J., McCormick, A.J., Cruz, S.M.,
contaminants removal and bioenergy production. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46,
Anderson, A., Yunus, K., Bendall, D.S., Cameron, P.J., Davies, J.M., Smith, A.G.,
11459–11466.
Howe, C.J., Fisher, A.C., 2011. Quantitative analysis of the factors limiting solar
Lin, J.H., Lee, D.J., Chang, J.S., 2015a. Lutein in specific marigold flowers and
power transduction by Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in biological photovoltaic
microalgae. J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng. 49, 90–94.
devices. Energy Environ. Sci. 2011 (4), 4690–4698.
Lin, J.H., Lee, D.J., Chang, J.S., 2015b. Lutein production from biomass: marigold
Bond, D.R., Lovley, D.R., 2003. Electricity production by Geobacter sulfurreducens
flowers versus microalgae. Bioresour. Technol. 2015 (184), 421–428.
attached to electrodes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69, 1548–1555.
Liu, W.X., Clarens, A.F., Colosi, L.M., 2012. Algae biodiesel has potential despite
Brennan, L., Owende, P., 2010. Biofuels from microalgae – a review of technologies
inconclusive results to date. Bioresour. Technol. 104, 803–806.
for production, processing, and extractions of biofuels and co-products.
Liu, H., Logan, B.E., 2004. Electricity generation using an air-cathode single chamber
Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 14, 557–577.
microbial fuel cell in the presence and absence of a proton exchange membrane.
Cao, X.X., Huang, X., Lig, P., Boon, N., Fan, M.Z., Zhang, L., Zhang, X.Y., 2009. A
Environ. Sci. Technol. 38, 4040–4046.
completely anoxic microbial fuel cell using a photo-biocathode for cathodic
Liu, X.W., Sun, X.F., Huang, Y.X., Li, D.B., Zeng, R.J., Xiong, L., Sheng, G.P., Li, W.W.,
carbon dioxide reduction. Energy Environ. Sci. 2, 498–501.
Cheng, Y.Y., Wang, S.G., Yu, H.Q., 2013. Photoautotrophic cathodic oxygen
Chen, C.Y., Yeh, K.L., Aisyah, R., Lee, D.J., Chang, J.S., 2011. Cultivation,
reduction catalyzed by a green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Biotechnol.
photobioreactor design and harvesting of microalgae for biodiesel production:
Bioeng. 110, 173–179.
a critical review. Bioresour. Technol. 102, 71–81.
 D.-J. Lee et al. / Bioresource Technology 198 (2015) 891–895 895

Logan, B.E., Hamelers, B., Rozendal, R.A., Schrorder, U., Keller, J., Freguia, S., Sun, M., Mu, Z.X., Chen, Y.P., Sheng, G.P., Liu, X.W., Chen, Y.Z., Zhao, Y., Wang, H.L.,
Aelterman, P., Verstraete, W., Rabaey, K., 2006. Microbial fuel cells: Yu, H.Q., Wei, L., Ma, F., 2009. Microbe-assisted sulfide oxidation in the anode of
methodology and technology. Environ. Sci. Technol. 40, 5181–5192. a microbial fuel cell. Environ. Sci. Technol. 43, 3372–3377.
Mao, L., Verwoerd, W.S., 2013. Selection of organisms for systems biology study of Tran, D.T., Le, B.H., Lee, D.J., Chen, C.L., Wang, H.Y., Chang, J.S., 2013. Microbial
microbial electricity generation: a review. Int. J. Energy Environ. Eng. 4, 1–18. harvesting and subsequent biodiesel conversion. Bioresour. Technol. 140,
Mata, T.M., Martins, A.A., Caetano, N.S., 2010. Microalgae for biodiesel production and 179–186.
other applications: a review. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 14, 217–232. Utomo, R.P., Chang, Y.R., Lee, D.J., Chang, J.S., 2013. Lutein recovery from Chlorella
McCormick, A.J., Bombelli, P., Scott, A.M., Philips, A.J., Smith, A.G., Fisher, A.C., Howe, sp. ESP-6 with coagulants. Bioresour. Technol. 139, 176–180.
C.J., 2011. Photosynthetic biofilms in pure culture harness solar energy in a Wang, X., Feng, Y.J., Liu, J., Lee, H., Li, C., Li, N., Ren, N.Q., 2010. Sequestration of CO2
mediatorless bio-photovoltaic cell (BPV) system. Energy Environ. Sci. 4, discharged from anode by algal cathode in microbial carbon capture cells
4699–4709. (MCCs). Biosens. Bioelectron. 2010 (25), 2639–2643.
Mendoza, H., Carmona, L., Assuncao, P., Freijanes, K., de la Jara, A., Portillo, E., Torres, Weng, H.L., Lee, D.J., 2015. Performance of sulfate reducing bacteria-microbial fuel
A., 2015. Variation in lipid extractability by solvent in microalgae. Additional cells: reproducibility. J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j/
criterion for selecting species and strains for biofuel production from jtice.2015.04.028, in press.
microalgae. Bioresour. Technol. 197, 369–374. Wieczorek, N., Ali Kucuker, M., Kuchta, K., 2015. Microalgae-bacteria flocs
Mohan, V., Srikanth, S., Chiranjeevi, P., Arora, S., Chandra, R., 2013. Algal biocathode (MaB-Flocs) as a substrate for fermentation biogas production. Bioresour.
for in situ terminal electron acceptor (TEA) production: synergetic association Technol. 194, 130–136.
of bacteria-microalgae metabolism for the functioning of biofuel cell. Bioresour. Wu, X.Y., Song, T.S., Zhu, X.J., Wei, P., Zhou, C.C., 2013. Construction and operation of
Technol. 166, 566–574. microbial fuel cell with Chlorella vulgaris biocathode for electricity generation.
Nien, P.C., Lee, C.Y., Ho, K.C., Adav, S.S., Liu, L.H., Wang, A.J., Ren, N.Q., Lee, D.J., 2011. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 171, 2082–2092.
Power overshoot in two-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC). Bioresour. Wu, Y.C., Wang, Z.J., Zheng, Y., Xiao, Y., Yang, Z.H., Zhao, F., 2014. Light intensity
Technol. 102, 4742–4746. affects the performance of photo microbial fuel cells with Desmodesmus sp. A8
Park, J.Y., Park, M.S., Lee, Y.C., Yang, J.W., 2015. Advances in direct transesterification as cathodic microorganism. Appl. Energy 116, 86–90.
of algal oils from wet biomass. Bioresour. Technol. 184, 267–275. Xiao, L., He, Z., 2014. Applications of perspectives of phototrophic microorganisms
Powell, E.E., Mapiour, M.L., Evitts, R.W., Hill, G.A., 2009. Growth kinetics of Chlorella for electricity generation from organic compounds in microbial fuel cells.
vulgaris and its use as a cathodic half cell. Bioresour. Technol. 100, 269–274. Renewable Sustainable Energy Rev. 37, 550–559.
Rabaey, K., Verstraete, W., 2005. Microbial fuel cells: novel biotechnology for energy Yen, H.W., Hu, I.C., Chen, C.Y., Ho, S.H., Lee, D.J., Chang, J.S., 2013. Microalgae-based
generation. Trends Biotechnol. 23, 291–298. biorefinery-from biofuels to natural products. Bioresour. Technol. 2013 (135),
Raschitor, A., Soreanu, G., Fernandez-Marchante, C.M., Lobato, J., Canizares, P., 166–174.
Cretescu, I., Rodrigo, M.A., 2015. Bioelectro-Claus processes using MFC Yu, N., Dieu, L.T.J., Harvey, S., Lee, D.Y., 2015. Optimization of process configuration
technology: influence of co-substrate. Bioresour. Technol. 189, 94–98. and strain selection for microalgae-based biodiesel production. Bioresour.
Rashid, N., Cui, Y.F., Muhammad, S.U.R., Han, J.I., 2013. Enhanced electricity Technol. 193, 25–34.
generation by using algae biomass and activated sludge in microbial fuel cell. Zhang, G.D., Zhao, Q.L., Jiao, Y., Lee, D.J., 2015a. Long-term operation of manure-
Sci. Total Environ. 456–457, 91–94. microbial fuel cell. Bioresour. Technol. 180, 365–369.
Reijnders, L., 2008. Do biofuels from microalgae beat biofuels from terrestrial plant? Zhang, G.D., Jiao, Y., Lee, D.J., 2015b. A lab-scale anoxic/oxic-bioelectrochemical
Trends Biotechnol. 26, 349–350. reactor for leachate treatments. Bioresour. Technol. 186, 97–105.
Rosenbaum, M., He, Z., Angenent, L.T., 2010. Light energy to bioelectricity: Zhang, G.D., Jiao, Y., Lee, D.J., 2015c. Transformation of dissolved organic matters
photosynthetic microbial fuel cells. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 21, 259–264. in landfill leachate-bioelectrochemical system. Bioresour. Technol. 191,
Show, K.Y., Lee, D.J., Tay, J.H., Lee, T.M., Chang, J.S., 2015. Microbial drying and cell 350–354.
disruption – recent advances. Bioresour. Technol. 184, 258–266. Zhang, Y., Noori, J.S., Angelidaki, I., 2011. Simultaneous organic carbon, nutrients
Show, K.Y., Lee, D.J., Chang, J.S., 2013. Algal biomass dehydration. Bioresour. removal and energy production in a photomicrobial fuel cell (PFC). Energy
Technol. 2013 (135), 720–729. Environ. Sci. 4, 4340–4346.