Challenges and Opportunities of Microbial Symbiosis for Electrosynthesis Applications

Book chapter, 2019

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) technology opens up new opportunities to produce valuable fuels and chemicals via bioelectrochemical CO2 reduction. For the technology to be able to compete with the current state-of-the-art in terms of production yields and rates and the value of final products and robustness, the function of the biocatalyst needs to be then specific, controlled and predictable. Several MES applications rely on undefined mixed culture biocathodes. There is a need for more knowledge about the factors that affect microbial community structure, composition and function in such systems. In this review, we focus on the latest strategies researchers have used to control the enrichment of effective and specific biocathode communities. We also provide an overview of the microorganisms used and the products generated by CO2-reducing biocathodes.