Insights into the role of Bioinspiration, Photosynthetic organisms, and Biomass-derived Electrodes/Membranes in the development of Bioelectrochemical Systems

Abstract Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) are often considered emerging renewable energy technologies that have the potential to recover resources and energy from waste. Scaleup and commercialization of these BESs are still in its infancy due to the lack of efficient system design, membranes, and electrode materials. Inspiration for the efficient design of BESs devices and components can be derived from nature, which is full of hierarchically scaling structures. BES integrated with photosynthesis have recently drawn a lot of attention for wastewater treatment as well as electricity production due to the versatility of plant materials towards the development of BES's essential components. Multifarious prokaryotic, eukaryotic, non-vascular, and vascular autotrophs and derived biomass have been studied for their potential as electricigens, substrate source, electron acceptor, electrodes, membrane, and structural components of BESs. This necessitates a study on the contribution of plants and plant-based materials in BES. In this context, the present review focuses on bioinspired design and BES, with an insight into the role of photosynthetic organisms in the development of BES, and different types of BESs powered by photosynthesis. Lastly, the state-of-the-art review on the recent progress in plant/algal biomass-derived electrodes and membranes is presented.