Microbial Electrosynthesis: The Future of Next-Generation Biofuel Production – A Review

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) has emerged as a promising bio-electrochemical technology for sustainable CO₂ conversion into valuable organic compounds. This review synthesizes ad-vancements in MES from 2010 to 2025, focusing on electrode materials, microbial communities, reactor engineering, performance trends, techno-economic evaluations, and future challenges, especially on the results reported between 2020 and 2025. Recent innovations in electrode mate-rials, such as conductive polymers and metal–organic frameworks, have enhanced electron transfer efficiency and microbial attachment, leading to improved MES performance. The de-velopment of diverse microbial consortia has expanded the range of products achievable through MES, with studies highlighting the importance of microbial interactions and metabolic pathways in product formation. Advancements in reactor design, including continuous-flow systems and membrane-less configurations, have addressed scalability issues, enhancing mass transfer and system stability. Performance metrics, such as current densities and product yields, have signifi-cantly improved, demonstrating the potential of MES for industrial applications. Techno-economic analyses indicate that while MES offers promising economic prospects, challenges related to cost-effective electrode materials and system integration remain. Future research should focus on optimizing microbial communities, developing advanced electrode materials, and designing scalable reactors to overcome existing limitations. Addressing these challenges will be crucial for the commercialization of MES as a viable technology for sustainable chemical production.