| Summary: | The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has appeared in the late 20th century and received considerable
attention over the last decade due to its multiple and unique potential in converting the substrates into electricity
and valuable productions. Extensive efforts have been paid to improve the MFCs performance, leading to the
publication of a massive amount of research that developed various aspects of these systems. Most of these
improvements have focused on optimization parameters, which is currently inappropriate to provide an inno�vational developing vision for MFC systems. The convergent results in most of the previous conventional studies
(12,643 studies according to the WOS database) have reduced the value of MFCs by drawing an incomplete
image for the performance of the systems. Therefore, this paper aimed to provide a comprehensive comparison
between the highly reliable studies that innovatively developed the MFC systems and the conventional MFCs
studies. The current paper discusses the novel MFCs development history, designs, efficiency, and challenges
compared to conventional MFCs. The discussion has displayed the high efficiency of the novel MFCs in removing
over 90% of substrates and generating power of 800 mW m− 2
. The paper also analyzed the literature trends,
history and suggested recommendations for future studies. This is the first paper highlighting the substantial differences between the innovative and conventional MFC systems, nominating it to be a vital reference for novel
MFCs studies in the future.
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