Different microbial fuel cell (MFC) configurations have been successfully operated at pilot-scale levels (>100 L) to demonstrate electricity generation while accomplishing domestic or industrial wastewater treatment. Two cathode configurations have been primarily used based on either oxygen transfer by aeration of a liquid catholyte or direct oxygen transfer using air-cathodes. Analysis of several pilot-scale MFCs showed that air-cathode MFCs outperformed liquid catholyte reactors based on power density, producing 233% larger area-normalized power densities and 181% higher volumetric power densities. Reactors with higher electrode packing densities improved performance by enabling larger power production while minimizing the reactor footprint. Despite producing more power than the liquid catholyte MFCs, and reducing energy consumption for catholyte aeration, pilot MFCs based on air-cathode configuration failed to produce effluents with chemical oxygen demand (COD) levels low enough to meet typical threshold for discharge. Therefore, additional treatment would be required to further reduce the organic matter in the effluent to levels suitable for discharge. Scaling up MFCs must incorporate designs that can minimize electrode and solution resistances to maximize power and enable efficient wastewater treatment.

不同的微生物燃料电池 (MFC) 配置已在中试规模水平 (>100 L) 成功运行，以证明发电同时完成生活或工业废水处理。两种阴极配置主要基于通过液体阴极液曝气的氧气转移或使用空气阴极的直接氧气转移。对几个中试规模的 MFC 的分析表明，基于功率密度，空气阴极 MFC 的性能优于液体阴极反应器，产生的面积归一化功率密度提高了 233%，体积功率密度提高了 181%。具有更高电极填充密度的反应器通过实现更大的发电量同时最大限度地减少反应器占地面积来提高性能。尽管比液体阴极 MFC 产生更多的能量，为了降低阴极液曝气的能耗，基于空气阴极配置的试点 MFC 未能产生化学需氧量 (COD) 水平低到足以满足典型排放阈值的流出物。因此，需要进行额外的处理，以进一步将流出物中的有机物减少到适合排放的水平。扩大 MFC 的规模必须采用能够最大限度地减少电极和溶液电阻的设计，以最大限度地提高功率并实现高效的废水处理。