Electron acceptors for energy generation in microbial fuel cells fed with wastewaters: A mini-review

• This review summarized various electron acceptors adopted in microbial fuel cells.
• Merits and drawbacks of various electron acceptors were identified.
• Possible future research directions were discussed particularly from cathode aspect.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have gained tremendous global interest over the last decades as a device that uses bacteria to oxidize organic and inorganic matters in the anode with bioelectricity generation and even for purpose of bioremediation. However, this prospective technology has not yet been carried out in field in particular because of its low power yields and target compounds removal which can be largely influenced by electron acceptors contributing to overcome the potential losses existing on the cathode. This mini review summarizes various electron acceptors used in recent years in the categories of inorganic and organic compounds, identifies their merits and drawbacks, and compares their influences on performance of MFCs, as well as briefly discusses possible future research directions particularly from cathode aspect.