Electrical performance of a novel 3D-printed tubular-plant microbial fuel cell (T-PMFC) in Canna indica dominated soils

• Main Author: William, Vladimir U.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: Microbial fuel cells; Wetland plants; Electrochemistry; Chemistry
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_chem/22; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_chem/article/1022/viewcontent/2024_William_Electrical_performance_of_a_novel_3D_printed_Tubular_Plant_Microb.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs) are a novel type of bioelectrochemical systems engineering technology in which natural redox processes that happen between plants and soil microorganisms are taken advantage of, for the production and harvesting of electrical energy. Recently, PMFCs have gained attention due to their renewability, sustainability, and economic feasibility. However, a limiting factor in the large-scale application of PMFCs is the maximization of the electrical output of the system. In our study, we focused on the design and fabrication of a novel, 3D-printed tubular-plant microbial fuel cell (T-PMFC) and evaluated its electrical performance compared to the conventional PMFC (PMFC) design in Canna indica dominated soils.The electrical performance of the novel, 3D-printed T-PMFC was compared in three scenarios: open circuit voltage, closed circuit voltage, and closed circuit voltage under longer open circuit voltage conditions. The variation of the electrochemical properties of the soils around the setup, specifically the pH and electrical conductivity were also investigated. Our study showed that the novel, 3D-printed T-PMFC was competitive in terms of output voltage both in the open circuit voltage and closed-circuit voltage conditions. The power output produced by the T-PMFC was also significantly higher compared to the conventional design. Meanwhile, there is no significant difference between the pH and electrical conductivity of the soils near the anode of the T-PMFC compared to the PMFC. When a nitrate-less, bicarbonate rich nutrient solution was added, both the current and power density as well as the pH and electrical conductivity of the T-PMFC setups significantly improved. This study has demonstrated that the design of the fuel cell has a significant impact in improving the power output and electrical performance of the plant microbial fuel cell.