Effects of sediment pretreatment on the performance of sediment microbial fuel cells

► Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) with different pretreatment sediments were constructed. ► Power density from SMFC with heated pretreatment (150 °C, 3 h) arrived at 214 mW m−2. ► Pretreatment sediment accelerated the release of dissolved organic matter (DOM). ► DOM in heated (60 °C, 3 h) pretreatment sediment had larger molecular size.