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

Autor: Alison G. Smith, Matthew B Cooper, Susan T.L. Harrison, Fabienne Felder, Christopher J. Howe, Paolo Bombelli, C. Jill Harrison, Durgaprasad Madras Rajaraman Iyer, Jessica Royles, Ross J. Dennis
Přispěvatelé: Bombelli, Paolo [0000-0001-5836-0218], Madras Rajaraman Iyer, Durgaprasad [0000-0002-0891-3336], Harrison, C Jill [0000-0002-5228-600X], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Royal Society Open Science, Vol 3, Iss 10 (2016)
Royal Society Open Science
Paolo, B, Dennis, R, Felder, F, Cooper, M, Durgaprasad, M R I, Royles, J, Harrison, S, Smith, A, Harrison, C J & Howe, C 2016, ' Electrical output of bryophyte microbial fuel cell systems is sufficient to power a radio or an environmental sensor ', Royal Society Open Science, vol. 3, 160249 . https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160249
Popis: 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).
Databáze: OpenAIRE