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Electrical output of bryophyte microbial fuel cell systems is sufficient to power a radio or an environmental sensor.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Dennis, Ross J 
Felder, Fabienne 
Cooper, Matt B 
Madras Rajaraman Iyer, Durgaprasad  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0891-3336

Abstract

Plant microbial fuel cells are a recently developed technology that exploits photosynthesis in vascular plants by harnessing solar energy and generating electrical power. In this study, the model moss species Physcomitrella patens, and other environmental samples of mosses, have been used to develop a non-vascular bryophyte microbial fuel cell (bryoMFC). A novel three-dimensional anodic matrix was successfully created and characterized and was further tested in a bryoMFC to determine the capacity of mosses to generate electrical power. The importance of anodophilic microorganisms in the bryoMFC was also determined. It was found that the non-sterile bryoMFCs operated with P. patens delivered over an order of magnitude higher peak power output (2.6 ± 0.6 µW m-2) than bryoMFCs kept in near-sterile conditions (0.2 ± 0.1 µW m-2). These results confirm the importance of the microbial populations for delivering electrons to the anode in a bryoMFC. When the bryoMFCs were operated with environmental samples of moss (non-sterile) the peak power output reached 6.7 ± 0.6 mW m-2. The bryoMFCs operated with environmental samples of moss were able to power a commercial radio receiver or an environmental sensor (LCD desktop weather station).

Description

Keywords

bioelectricity, bryoMFC, bryophyte, electrochemistry, microbial fuel cell, plant microbial fuel cell

Journal Title

R Soc Open Sci

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2054-5703
2054-5703

Volume Title

3

Publisher

The Royal Society
Sponsorship
Natural Environment Research Council (NE/M001946/1)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/L002248/1)
The authors are grateful for funding provided by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (P.B., A.G.S. and C.J. Howe), EnAlgae (http://www.enalgae.eu/, INTERREG IVB NWE) (P.B. and C.J. Howe), the Royal Society URF (C.J. Harrison), the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (Fellowship GAT2962) (C.J. Harrison), the Leverhulme Trust (P.B. and C.J. Howe), the Shuttleworth Foundation (P.B.) and the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of South Africa through the South African Research Chair Initiative Chair in Bioprocess Engineering (UID 64778) (S.T.L.H. and D.M.R.I.).
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