Biological fuel cells and their applications

Abstract

One type of genuine fuel cell that does hold promise in the long-term is the biological fuel cell. Unlike conventional fuel cells, which employ hydrogen, ethanol and methanol as fuel, biological fuel cells use organic products produced by metabolic processes or use organic electron donors utilized in the growth processes as fuels for current generation. A distinctive feature of biological fuel cells is that the electrode reactions are controlled by biocatalysts, i.e. the biological redox-reactions are enzymatically driven, while in chemical fuel cells catalysts such as platinum determine the electrode kinetics. This article provides a brief introduction to biological fuel cells.along with their envisaged applications.