IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v169y2022ics1364032122008346.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Plant microbial fuel cells from the perspective of photovoltaics: Efficiency, power, and applications

Author

Listed:
  • Van Limbergen, T.
  • Bonné, R.
  • Hustings, J.
  • Valcke, R.
  • Thijs, S.
  • Vangronsveld, J.
  • Manca, J.V.

Abstract

The plant microbial fuel cell is a fascinating technology that combines plants and bacteria to produce electricity. As sunlight is converted into electric power, plant microbial fuel cells can be compared to photovoltaics on various levels. To investigate to what extent this comparison goes up, a rough upper limit for the energy conversion efficiency of plant microbial fuel cells was calculated and compared to various photovoltaic classes. By examining each step in the process, with the accompanying losses, the maximum power conversion efficiency of a plant microbial fuel cell was estimated to be around 0.92%. Although this efficiency is relatively low, the plant microbial fuel cell does have attractive features making them more interesting than photovoltaics, such as price, simplicity, self-sustainability, working during the night, etc. Moreover, a unique feature is that plant microbial fuel cells can be used as low-power environmental sensors and for environmental remediation. These multidisciplinary features account for the unique place the plant microbial fuel cell currently has in the world of environmental, renewable – and particularly solar – energy research.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Limbergen, T. & Bonné, R. & Hustings, J. & Valcke, R. & Thijs, S. & Vangronsveld, J. & Manca, J.V., 2022. "Plant microbial fuel cells from the perspective of photovoltaics: Efficiency, power, and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:169:y:2022:i:c:s1364032122008346
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2022.112953
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032122008346
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112953?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nitisoravut, Rachnarin & Regmi, Roshan, 2017. "Plant microbial fuel cells: A promising biosystems engineering," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 81-89.
    2. Yanhua Wang & Jiayan Wu & Shengke Yang & Huihui Li & Xiaoping Li, 2018. "Electrode Modification and Optimization in Air-Cathode Single-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Serra, P.M.D. & Espírito-Santo, A. & Magrinho, M., 2020. "A steady-state electrical model of a microbial fuel cell through multiple-cycle polarization curves," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    4. Zeng, Linghe & Lesch, Scott M. & Grieve, Catherine M., 2003. "Rice growth and yield respond to changes in water depth and salinity stress," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 67-75, March.
    5. Apollon, Wilgince & Kamaraj, Sathish-Kumar & Silos-Espino, Héctor & Perales-Segovia, Catarino & Valera-Montero, Luis L. & Maldonado-Ruelas, Víctor A. & Vázquez-Gutiérrez, Marco A. & Ortiz-Medina, Raúl, 2020. "Impact of Opuntia species plant bio-battery in a semi-arid environment: Demonstration of their applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    6. Green, M. A., 2000. "Photovoltaics: technology overview," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(14), pages 989-998, November.
    7. Wetser, Koen & Sudirjo, Emilius & Buisman, Cees J.N. & Strik, David P.B.T.B., 2015. "Electricity generation by a plant microbial fuel cell with an integrated oxygen reducing biocathode," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 151-157.
    8. Hussain, Akhtar & Arif, Syed Muhammad & Aslam, Muhammad, 2017. "Emerging renewable and sustainable energy technologies: State of the art," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 12-28.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xing Zhu & Chenxi Du & Bo Gao & Bin He, 2024. "Artificial cellulosic leaf with adjustable enzymatic CO2 sequestration capability," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Ballestas, Emerson Ramírez & Bortoluzzi, Edson Campanhola & Hamad Minervino, Antonio Humberto & Palma, Hugo Hernández & Neckel, Alcindo & Ramos, Claudete Gindri & Moreno-Ríos, Andrea Liliana, 2024. "Power generation potential of plant microbial fuel cells as a renewable energy source," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rusyn, Iryna, 2021. "Role of microbial community and plant species in performance of plant microbial fuel cells," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    2. Kabutey, Felix Tetteh & Zhao, Qingliang & Wei, Liangliang & Ding, Jing & Antwi, Philip & Quashie, Frank Koblah & Wang, Weiye, 2019. "An overview of plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs): Configurations and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 402-414.
    3. Apollon, Wilgince & Kamaraj, Sathish-Kumar & Silos-Espino, Héctor & Perales-Segovia, Catarino & Valera-Montero, Luis L. & Maldonado-Ruelas, Víctor A. & Vázquez-Gutiérrez, Marco A. & Ortiz-Medina, Raúl, 2020. "Impact of Opuntia species plant bio-battery in a semi-arid environment: Demonstration of their applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    4. Mort Webster & Karen Fisher-Vanden & David Popp & Nidhi Santen, 2017. "Should We Give Up after Solyndra? Optimal Technology R&D Portfolios under Uncertainty," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(S1), pages 123-151.
    5. Theofilos Kamperidis & Asimina Tremouli & Antonis Peppas & Gerasimos Lyberatos, 2022. "A 2D Modelling Approach for Predicting the Response of a Two-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell to Substrate Concentration and Electrolyte Conductivity Changes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Le Thanh Tiep & Ngo Quang Huan & Tran Thi Thuy Hong, 2020. "The Impact of Renewable Energy on Sustainable Economic Growth in Vietnam," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(6), pages 359-369.
    7. Liu, Yong & Wang, Hai & Shen, Hui & Chen, Wei, 2010. "The 3-dimensional dye-sensitized solar cell and module based on all titanium substrates," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 436-441, February.
    8. Adriano Silva Bastos & Tâmara Rita Costa de Souza & Dieimys Santos Ribeiro & Mirian de Lourdes Noronha Motta Melo & Carlos Barreira Martinez, 2023. "Wave Energy Generation in Brazil: A Georeferenced Oscillating Water Column Inventory," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-24, April.
    9. Wilberforce, Tabbi & El Hassan, Zaki & Durrant, A. & Thompson, J. & Soudan, Bassel & Olabi, A.G., 2019. "Overview of ocean power technology," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 165-181.
    10. Zhou, Yu & Ning, Dezhi & Liang, Dongfang & Cai, Shuqun, 2021. "Nonlinear hydrodynamic analysis of an offshore oscillating water column wave energy converter," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    11. Nitisoravut, Rachnarin & Regmi, Roshan, 2017. "Plant microbial fuel cells: A promising biosystems engineering," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 81-89.
    12. Vera, Sergio & Pinto, Camilo & Tabares-Velasco, Paulo Cesar & Bustamante, Waldo, 2018. "A critical review of heat and mass transfer in vegetative roof models used in building energy and urban enviroment simulation tools," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 752-764.
    13. Rosa-Santos, Paulo & Taveira-Pinto, Francisco & Rodríguez, Claudio A. & Ramos, Victor & López, Mario, 2019. "The CECO wave energy converter: Recent developments," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 368-384.
    14. Vandersypen, K. & Keita, A.C.T. & Coulibaly, B. & Raes, D. & Jamin, J.-Y., 2007. "Drainage problems in the rice schemes of the Office du Niger (Mali) in relation to water management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(1-2), pages 153-160, April.
    15. Soudan, Bassel, 2019. "Community-scale baseload generation from marine energy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    16. Popescu, Gheorghe H. & Mieila, Mihai & Nica, Elvira & Andrei, Jean Vasile, 2018. "The emergence of the effects and determinants of the energy paradigm changes on European Union economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 768-774.
    17. Wilgince Apollon & Juan Antonio Vidales-Contreras & Humberto Rodríguez-Fuentes & Juan Florencio Gómez-Leyva & Emilio Olivares-Sáenz & Víctor Arturo Maldonado-Ruelas & Raúl Arturo Ortiz-Medina & Sathis, 2022. "Livestock’s Urine-Based Plant Microbial Fuel Cells Improve Plant Growth and Power Generation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-18, September.
    18. Muhammad Aslam & Jae-Myeong Lee & Hyung-Seung Kim & Seung-Jae Lee & Sugwon Hong, 2019. "Deep Learning Models for Long-Term Solar Radiation Forecasting Considering Microgrid Installation: A Comparative Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    19. Sampaio, Priscila Gonçalves Vasconcelos & González, Mario Orestes Aguirre, 2017. "Photovoltaic solar energy: Conceptual framework," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 590-601.
    20. Tran, Thomas T.D. & Smith, Amanda D., 2017. "fEvaluation of renewable energy technologies and their potential for technical integration and cost-effective use within the U.S. energy sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1372-1388.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:169:y:2022:i:c:s1364032122008346. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.