Microbial Fuel Cell Technology as a New Strategy for Sustainable Management of Soil-Based Ecosystems

Renata Toczyłowska-Mamińska (), Mariusz Ł. Mamiński and Wojciech Kwasowski
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Renata Toczyłowska-Mamińska: Institute of Biology, Department of Physics and Biophysics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Building No. 37, 159 Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Mariusz Ł. Mamiński: Institute of Wood Sciences and Furniture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Building No. 34, 159 Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Wojciech Kwasowski: Institute of Agriculture, Department of Soil Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Building No. 37, 159 Nowoursynowska St., 02-776 Warsaw, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-31

Abstract: Although soil is mainly perceived as the basic component of agricultural production, it also plays a pivotal role in environmental protection and climate change mitigation. Soil ecosystems are the largest terrestrial carbon source and greenhouse gas emitters, and their degradation as a result of aggressive human activity exacerbates the problem of climate change. Application of microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology to soil-based ecosystems such as sediments, wetlands, farmland, or meadows allows for sustainable management of these environments with energy and environmental benefits. Soil ecosystem-based MFCs enable zero-energy, environmentally friendly soil bioremediation (with efficiencies reaching even 99%), direct clean energy production from various soil-based ecosystems (with power production reaching 334 W/m 2 ), and monitoring of soil quality or wastewater treatment in wetlands (with efficiencies of up to 99%). They are also a new strategy for greenhouse gas, soil salinity, and metal accumulation mitigation. This article reviews the current state of the art in the field of application of MFC technology to various soil-based ecosystems, including soil MFCs, sediment MFCs, plant MFCs, and CW-MFCs (constructed wetlands coupled with MFCs).

Keywords: microbial fuel cell; bioremediation; soil; wetland; sediment; plant; methane mitigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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