Sustainable water desalination and electricity generation in a separator coupled stacked microbial desalination cell with buffer free electrolyte circulation

▸ A separator coupled circulation stacked MDC (c-SMDC-S) was constructed. ▸ Electrolyte circulation between the anode and cathode could remove pH imbalance. ▸ Separator prevented the biofilm directly growing on the air cathode. ▸ The c-SMDC-S achieved stable current producing and desalination performance.