In the present world scenario waste removal and alternative source of energy generation are two of the most discussed topics among the scientific community. microbial fuel cell (mfc) presents a promising solution to both waste removal as well energy generation simultaneously. mfcs are bioelectrochmical systems which convert the organic matter present in the wastewater to electricity with the aid of biocatalytic acitvity of a specific group of microorganism i.e. electrogens. the high manufacturing cost of mfc is a major hurdle in the path of field scale application. the membrane cost alone accounts for around 35% of total mfc capital cost. the most commonly used nafion 117 membrane is available at a cost of $1600/m2. hence, development of low cost membranes can ease the path for real world application of mfcs. in the preseent study, a composite membrane was developed from borosilicate glass incorporated with polyvinyl alcohol (pva)-nafion matrix. the membrane was characterized in terms of water uptake, pbs uptake, oxygen diffusion and proton conductivity. while utilizing acetate based synthetic wastewater, mfc with pva-nafion-borosilicate membrane exhibited maximum power density of 6.8 wm-3 and it was comparable with mfc using commercially available nafion 117 (7.1 wm-3) membrane separator. moreover, the method of preparation is simple and cost of the novel membrane is 11-folds lower than commercially available nafion 117. the study was further extended by utilizing the mfc with the newly developed membrane for distillery wastewater treatment. effluent generated from distilleries are characterized by their high cod and bod content and acidic ph which can cause serious environmental problems if not properly treated. distillery industry have been identified under the red category by the central pollution control board. the mfc was capable of efficiently degrading organic matter present in distillery wastewater in the range of 54.5 - 64.25% along with generating a maximum power density of 4.3 wm-3. this study demonstrates a novel, low cost, easily synthesizable membrane which was successfully used for treatment of distillery wastewater treatment in mfcs.