PLANT MICROBIAL FUEL CELL
The electricity produced from coal, natural gas and other fossil fuel are non-renewable. The emission during the production of electricity using these sources is harmful to the environment .After some period of time, these sources will become extinct. Hence we need a more sustainable form of energy.
2025-06-28 16:34:29 - Adil Khan
PLANT MICROBIAL FUEL CELL
Project Area of Specialization Electrical/Electronic EngineeringProject SummaryThe electricity produced from coal, natural gas and other fossil fuel are non-renewable. The emission during the production of electricity using these sources is harmful to the environment .After some period of time, these sources will become extinct. Hence we need a more sustainable form of energy. Plants create their food using photosynthesis, when this happen a large portion of the organic matter produced is transferred to the roots back to the soil. The organic matter is consumed by microorganisms that live inside the soil, releasing electrons as a result of their metabolism. By placing electrodes near the roots, plant microbial fuel cell can transform this bacterial metabolism into electricity through an external circuit, without affecting the plant’s growth in any way. Living plants and bacterial species are used to generate electricity in plant microbial fuel cell .A plant microbial fuel cell is an offshoot that coverts solar electricity into green electricity by simply harvesting energy though the anerobic degradation (breakdown of organic contaminants by microorganisms) of organic matter and biomass via bacteria. The electrode with higher and lower electrode potential was selected as anode and cathode. Its need to be with in plants’ root system to harvest the electrons, which means somewhere between 5 to 10cm below the ground surface. The energy produced then be stored in an energy storage bank like a battery that can be used for various applications.
Objective 1: To generate clean electricity from the synergistic effect of living plants and microorganism living in the root zone.
Objective 2: To assess plant-MFC performance with different indoor and outdoor plants.
Objective 3: To optimize the plant-MFC performance while evaluating the effect of irrigation frequency, presence of compost and nutrient availability.
Objective 4: Integrating plant-MFC with an energy storage system.
Project Implementation MethodThe electrode with higher and lower electrode potential was selected as anode and cathode. Its need to be with in plants’ root system to harvest the electrons, which means somewhere between 5 to 10cm below the ground surface. So the waste electrons can be utilized to generate electrical energy.
1) Sourcing electricity by using living plants is sustainable and can improve bio-diversity.
2) It can be used to power outdoor lightning, street lights as well as small and medium applications such as WIFI and phone chargers.
3) Efficient why to power low energy input plant monitoring devices for agricultural use
We are representing a circuit that produce electricity as final output.
1) Pair of electrodes and their position are most significant for collecting waste electrons.
2) Produced electricity from PMFC is boosted by a converter and then stored in an energy storing device.
3) We are representing a pot as a final product that can produce electricity through tha microbial oxidation of organic matter present in a root zone area , not only it can produce eectricity but also it can store electricity with in external circuit.
Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry Energy Other Industries Others Core Technology Clean TechOther Technologies OthersSustainable Development Goals Affordable and Clean EnergyRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 30610 | |||
| Copper electrodes | Equipment | 40 | 50 | 2000 |
| zinc Electrode | Equipment | 40 | 90 | 3600 |
| steel electrode | Equipment | 10 | 20 | 200 |
| carbon electrode | Equipment | 60 | 80 | 4800 |
| connecting wires | Miscellaneous | 30 | 20 | 600 |
| plants | Equipment | 10 | 360 | 3600 |
| multimeter | Equipment | 1 | 2500 | 2500 |
| leds | Miscellaneous | 20 | 3 | 60 |
| soil | Miscellaneous | 10 | 30 | 300 |
| compose | Miscellaneous | 10 | 20 | 200 |
| pots | Miscellaneous | 10 | 250 | 2500 |
| converter | Equipment | 3 | 250 | 750 |
| inverter | Equipment | 1 | 3000 | 3000 |
| soil tester | Equipment | 1 | 3000 | 3000 |
| energy storing device | Equipment | 1 | 3000 | 3000 |
| resistor sheet | Miscellaneous | 1 | 100 | 100 |
| capacitor sheet | Miscellaneous | 1 | 200 | 200 |
| 220 volt load | Equipment | 1 | 200 | 200 |