Slurry flow electrodes towards scalable environmental and energy storage applications: State of the art and technical challenges

• Slurry flow electrodes are reviewed for scalable energy and environmental use. • Governing factors are analyzed for their impact on conductivity and charge storage. • Fluid dynamics are linked with electrochemical performance and efficiency outcomes. • Research gaps are outlined and strategies are proposed for future slurry technologie. Slurry flow electrodes have emerged as promising candidates for scalable electrochemical energy storage and environmental applications, offering high charge capacity, tunable conductivity, and design flexibility. Prior research has provided valuable insights into material synthesis, flow dynamics, and system design, but these studies remain fragmented and often lack a unifying framework that connects particle properties with electrochemical performance. This review systematically examines recent advances in slurry flow electrodes, introducing an innovative classification framework that organizes prior work into coherent categories of materials, configurations, and performance optimisation. It also establishes for the first time correlation models linking slurry physicochemical characteristics with charge transfer and flow behaviour, thereby providing predictive guidance for system design. Furthermore, the review proposes novel biomimetic design strategies inspired by natural hierarchical architectures to address persistent challenges such as particle aggregation, viscosity control, and long term operational stability. By bridging prior fragmented knowledge with new theoretical and design perspectives, this work advances slurry flow electrodes toward practical, cost effective, and sustainable deployment in next generation energy storage systems.