Essential factors that affect bioelectricity generation by Rhodopseudomonas palustris strain PS3 in paddy soil microbial fuel cells

• Published in: International journal of energy research Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 2231 - 2244
• Main Authors: Liu, Chia‐Hung, Lee, Sook‐Kuan, Ou, I‐Che, Tsai, Kun‐Ju, Lee, Yu, Chu, Yuan‐Hua, Liao, Yu‐Te, Liu, Chi‐Te
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-02-2021; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Biochemical fuel cells; Bioelectricity; biofilm; Biofilms; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide fixation; Carbon sequestration; CMOS; Electron transport; Energy conversion efficiency; Energy harvesting; Fuel cells; Inoculation; Metabolism; Metals; Microorganisms; Oxidation; Performance evaluation; PGPR; Phototrophic bacteria; Soil; Soils; soil‐based microbial fuel cell
• ISSN: 0363-907X; 1099-114X
• DOI: 10.1002/er.5916

Summary
A plant‐associated phototrophic bacterium, R. palustris strain PS3, was inoculated into a soil‐based MFC to generate electricity. We evaluated the performance of this soil‐based microbial fuel cell (MFC) and elucidated the essential factors that contributed to power generation. PS3 showed the potential to enhance power generation, especially when the apparatus was operated in a sealed chamber with illumination. We deduced that the improved power performance was due to the enhanced electron transport through the living electrode that was grown as a PS3 biofilm via photoheterotrophic metabolism. In addition, we suggested that the interplay between phototrophic fixation of ambient CO2 and anaerobic oxidation of ferrous iron in soil was also involved in the increased power output. We implemented CMOS (complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor) technology with the soil‐based MFC to harvest energy in a more efficient and stable manner. The above system is expected to provide a potentially low‐cost and low‐energy system with a high power conversion efficiency for practical applications in the future.
A plant‐associated phototrophic bacterium, R. palustris strain PS3, was inoculated into a soil energy cell to generate electricity. We evaluated the performance of this soil‐based microbial fuel cell (MFC) and elucidated the essential factors that contributed to power generation. The scheme of this study was described as follows. PS3 inoculum was applied into a soil energy cell to create a soil‐based microbial fuel cell (MFC), and its biofilm was formed on the surface of carbon rod electrode. The power output of the system was remarkably increased while it was operated under an anaerobic‐light environment in the presence of high CO2 concentration. A power management integrated circuit (IC) with CMOS technology was implemented to harvest energy from the system more stable. Electricity was harvested from the soil‐based MFC, and successfully illuminated the light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) array.