Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have been intensively studied as a new technology for wastewater treatment. However, the treatment efficiency of BES anodes is limited and the anode effluent usually cannot be directly discharged or reused. To enhance the treatment, BES cathodes may be used for additional treatment of selected contaminants. This has been investigated in a number of approaches, which can be grouped into cathode-stimulated treatment and cathode-supported treatment. The former involves electron transfer directly to reduce contaminants like nitrate or dye compounds, while the latter can accomplish contaminant removal by aerobic oxidation, algal growth, production of strong oxidants for advanced oxidation, and/or membrane treatment. This paper aims to provide a concise view and discussion on the cathode-promoted wastewater treatment in BES, analyze challenges pertaining to the cathode treatment, and offer suggestions on the future development of BES for maximized treatment performance.

生物电化学系统（BES）已作为废水处理的新技术进行了深入研究。然而，BES阳极的处理效率受到限制，并且阳极流出物通常不能直接排放或再利用。为了增强处理效果，可以使用BES阴极对所选污染物进行额外处理。已通过多种方法对此进行了研究，可以将其分为阴极刺激处理和阴极支撑处理。前者直接涉及电子转移，以减少诸如硝酸盐或染料化合物之类的污染物，而后者可通过需氧氧化，藻类生长，产生用于进一步氧化的强氧化剂和/或膜处理来完成污染物的去除。