Definitions by Oxana Koshova (biology)

Microbial fuel cells: principles of organization and prospects of use

Extended definition

A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device which produces electricity from various external quantities of fuel (on the anode side) and oxidant (on the cathode side) in the presence of an electrolyte. Fuel cells are different from batteries in that they consume reactant, which must be replenished, while batteries store electrical energy chemically in a closed system. Additionally, while the electrodes within a battery react and change as a battery is charged or discharged, a fuel cell's electrodes are catalytic and relatively stable. Therefore, fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows of the reagents are maintained [1].

Sentence definition

A microbial fuel cell is a device which converts chemical energy to electrical energy by the catalytic reaction of microorganisms [2].

References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_fuel_cell