Sustainable power generation from floating macrophytes based ecological microenvironment through embedded fuel cells along with simultaneous wastewater treatment

► Simulated floating macrophyte based ecosystem (FME) was studied with various types of wastewater. ► Designed ecosystem facilitated energy generation with simultaneous wastewater treatment. ► Natural attenuation mechanism showed effective removal of COD, nitrates, colour and turbidity. ► Embedded fuel cells in FME depicted maximum voltage of 724 mV and power density of 225 mA/m2. ► Syntrophism between living components in designed ecosystem resulted in effective treatment.