α‐MnO 2 Nanowires‐Modified CF Anode Improved the Bioelectrochemical Performance of MFCs Fed With Sugar Industry Wastewater

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an innovative, multipurpose approach that provides a sustainable solution for wastewater treatment and bioelectricity generation simultaneously by utilizing microbial metabolism, to convert organic matter’s chemical energy into electrical energy. The current study has compared the bioelectrochemical performance of dual‐chambered MFCs fabricated with a bare carbon felt (CF) anode and alpha manganese dioxide (α‐MnO 2 ) nanowires‐modified CF anode. The MFCs were fed with sugar industry wastewater (SIWW) and synthetic wastewater (SWW), having comparable chemical oxygen demand (COD), i.e., 1000 mg/L. Hydrothermal approach was employed for the synthesis of α‐MnO 2 nanowires followed by their characterization via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX) spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. MFC configured with the α‐MnO 2 @CF anode and fed with SWW displayed enhanced bioelectrochemical performance such as the recorded highest output stable voltage was 540.84 ± 18.82 mV and maximum power density was depicted to be 323.20 mW/m 2 with a corresponding current density of 804 mA/m 2 , whereas the % COD removal and % CE were found to be 78 ± 0.50% and 14.61%, comparative to that configured with bare/unmodified CF anode, respectively. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) also ascertained superior electrochemical performance of the α‐MnO 2 nanowires‐modified CF anodes. Hence, it was revealed that the α‐MnO 2 _CF anode‐based system displayed significantly enhanced MFC operational efficiency, demonstrating its potential for sustainable energy recovery and wastewater treatment applications.