Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2011 Jun;22(3):371-7. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2011.01.010. Epub 2011 Feb 23.
The production of biofuels and biochemicals is highly electron intensive. To divert fermentative and respiratory pathways to the product of interest, additional electrons (i.e. reducing power) are often needed. Meanwhile, the past decade has seen the breakthrough of sustainable electricity sources such as solar and wind. Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is at the nexus of both, as it uses electrical energy as source of reducing power for microorganisms. This review addresses the key opportunities and challenges for MES. While exciting as a concept, MES needs to overcome many biological, electrochemical, logistical and economic challenges. Particularly the latter is critical, as on a 'per electron basis' MES does not yet appear to deliver a substantial benefit relative to existing approaches.
生物燃料和生物化学制品的生产需要大量电子。为了将发酵和呼吸途径引导到感兴趣的产物上，通常需要额外的电子（即还原力）。与此同时，过去十年见证了可持续能源（如太阳能和风能）的突破。微生物电解合成（MES）将这两者结合在一起，因为它利用电能作为微生物的还原力来源。本综述讨论了 MES 的关键机遇和挑战。虽然作为一个概念令人兴奋，但 MES 需要克服许多生物学、电化学、物流和经济方面的挑战。特别是后者至关重要，因为从“每电子基础”来看，MES 似乎并没有相对于现有方法提供实质性的益处。
