A review on microbial fuel cell technology for Brewery industry wastewater treatment – From fundamentals to pilot scale studies

Abstract Industries play an important role in the economic growth of any nation, whereas they release pollutants, which impact our environment seriously. Owing to the rapid climate change and global warming, our earth is searching for different sustainable energy technologies. Microbial fuel cell technology is emerging as one of the most versatile sustainable energy technology, with their ability to tap the energy stored in the wastewater and convert it directly into electrical energy. Though MFC research is still in its nascent stage, its theoretical superiority makes it a unique technology, which can be developed into a self‐sufficient system for wastewater treatment in the near future. Brewery industries consume large quantities of water for beer production and hence release large quantities of wastewater. The chemical energy stored in the brewery wastewater could be converted into useful bioelectricity by MFC technology compared to other traditional wastewater treatment technologies, which are all energy intensive. Brewery wastewater, rich in biodegradable organic matter with their non‐toxic nature, makes it a highly suitable substrate for MFC. It is one of the few substrates that have made it to pilot‐scale studies worldwide. This study aims to review the microbial fuel cells with brewery wastewater as their substrate. It will elaborate the different configurations of MFCs employed for brewery wastewater so far, their power producing ability and wastewater treatment efficiency. The critical factors that influence these MFC systems will also be discussed. Finally, this article also identifies and suggests different strategies to improve the performance of such MFC systems.