Abstract Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) holds the flexible potentials for waste biorefinery, pollutants removal, CO 2 capture, and bioelectrosynthesis of clean and renewable electrofuels or valuable chemical commodities, dealing with the depletion of fossil fuels and environmental deterioration issues. Although substantial advances in process design and mechanisms exploration have greatly promoted the development of MEC platform from a concept to a technology, how to virtually utilize it in real-world scenario remains a big challenge. There are numerous technical issues ahead for MEC to be tackled towards up-scaling and real implementations. This review article presents a state-of-the-art overview of the fundamental aspects and the latest breakthrough results and accomplishments obtained from the MEC platform, with a special emphasis on mapping the key extracellular electron transfer (EET) mechanisms between electroactive microorganisms and electrode surface (including i : cells → e − anode ; and ii : cathode → e − cells ). A unified discussion of different process design: inoculation methods for rapid start-up, role of membranes, modification of cathode materials, cathodic catalysts (i.e. noble, un-noble metal catalysts and biocatalysts) as well as designs and configurations of versatile bioelectrochemical cells, is also involved. Finally, the major challenges and technical problems encountered throughout MEC researches are analyzed, and recommendations and future needs for the virtual utilization of MEC technology in real waste treatment are elaborated.

中文翻译：

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用于同时产生废物生物精炼和清洁电燃料的微生物电解池平台：现状、挑战和未来前景

摘要 微生物电解槽 (MEC) 在废物生物精炼、污染物去除、CO 2 捕获以及清洁和可再生电燃料或有价值的化学商品的生物电合成、处理化石燃料枯竭和环境恶化问题方面具有灵活的潜力。尽管流程设计和机制探索的实质性进展极大地推动了 MEC 平台从概念到技术的发展，但如何在现实世界场景中虚拟使用它仍然是一个巨大的挑战。MEC 有许多技术问题需要解决，以实现规模化和实际实施。这篇评论文章对 MEC 平台的基本方面以及最新的突破性成果和成就进行了最先进的概述，特别强调绘制电活性微生物和电极表面（包括 i：细胞 → e - 阳极；和 ii：阴极 → e - 细胞）之间的关键细胞外电子转移 (EET) 机制。不同工艺设计的统一讨论：快速启动的接种方法、膜的作用、阴极材料的改性、阴极催化剂（即贵金属、非贵金属催化剂和生物催化剂）以及多功能生物电化学电池的设计和配置，也参与其中。最后，分析了MEC研究中遇到的主要挑战和技术问题，阐述了MEC技术在实际废物处理中的虚拟利用的建议和未来需求。