Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is an emerging area for alternative renewable energy generation and it offers additional opportunities for environmental bioremediation. Recent scientific studies have focused on MFC reactor design as well as reactor operations to increase energy output. The advancement in alternative MFC models and their performance in recent years reflect the interests of scientific community to exploit this technology for wider practical applications and environmental benefit. This is reflected in the diversity of the substrates available for use in MFCs at an economically viable level. This review provides an overview of the commonly used MFC designs and materials along with the basic operating parameters that have been developed in recent years. Still, many limitations and challenges exist for MFC development that needs to be further addressed to make them economically feasible for general use. These include continued improvements in fuel cell design and efficiency as well scale-up with economically practical applications tailored to local needs.

微生物燃料电池（MFC）技术是替代可再生能源发电的新兴领域，它为环境生物修复提供了更多机会。最近的科学研究集中在MFC反应器设计以及增加能量输出的反应器操作上。替代MFC模型的发展及其近年来的性能反映了科学界的兴趣，即利用该技术获得更广泛的实际应用和环境效益。这反映在经济上可行的水平上可用于MFC中的基板种​​类繁多。这篇综述概述了近年来最常用的MFC设计和材料以及基本的工作参数。仍然，MFC开发存在许多限制和挑战，需要进一步解决这些限制和挑战，以使其在经济上可普遍使用。这些包括燃料电池设计和效率的不断改进，以及针对当地需求量身定制的经济实用应用。