Bioengineering and Environmental Centre (BEEC), CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad 500 607, India.
Bioresour Technol. 2012 Nov;124:364-70. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2012.08.020. Epub 2012 Aug 10.
The feasibility of power generation by non-destructive usage of rhizodeposits of Pennisetum setaceum plant formed mainly due to photosynthesis-carbon sequestration mechanism was studied in rhizosphere based microbial fuel-cell (R-MFC). Four fuel-cell assemblies (non-catalyzed graphite-plates; membrane-less operation; air-cathode) were evaluated for their electrogenic activity by varying anode distances from root in rhizosphere [A1 - 0; A2 - 8; A3 - 12 and A4 - 16 cm] at 2 cm depth from soil-layer and analyzed their electrogenic potential. The fuel-cell assembly near to the root zone showed maximum electrogenic-activity (R1, 1007 mV/4.52 mA) followed by R2 (780 mV/4.11 mA), R3 (720 mV/3.4 mA) and R4 (220 mV/1.2 mA). The observed maximum electrogenesis with R1 and minimum with R4 electrode-assemblies enumerated the critical role of root-exudates as substrates. All fuel-cell assemblies showed 10% higher electrogenic activity during day-time operation which can be directly attributed to plant's photosynthetic activity. The study enumerated the potential of plant to harness power in a sustainable way by optimum placement of fuel-cell setup in their rhizosphere.
由于光合作用碳固存机制，主要由狼尾草根分泌物形成的根际微生物燃料电池（R-MFC）中，非破坏性利用植物根分泌物发电的可行性得到了研究。通过改变根际中阳极与根的距离[A1-0；A2-8；A3-12 和 A4-16 cm]，在离土壤层 2 厘米深的位置，对四个无催化剂石墨板、无膜操作、空气阴极的燃料电池组件的发电活性进行了评估，并分析了它们的发电潜力。靠近根区的燃料电池组件表现出最大的发电活性（R1，1007 mV/4.52 mA），其次是 R2（780 mV/4.11 mA）、R3（720 mV/3.4 mA）和 R4（220 mV/1.2 mA）。观察到 R1 具有最大的发电能力，而 R4 电极组件的发电能力最小，这说明了根分泌物作为底物的关键作用。所有的燃料电池组件在白天的运行中表现出 10%更高的发电活性，这可以直接归因于植物的光合作用活性。该研究说明了通过在根际中优化燃料电池设置的位置，植物有潜力以可持续的方式利用电力。
