title: Microbial fuel cells generating electricity from rhizodeposits of rice plants.
abstract: Living plants transport substantial amounts of organic material into the soil. This process, called rhizodeposition, provides the substrate for the rhizospheric microbial community. In this study, a laboratory-scale sediment microbial fuel cell, of which the anode is positioned in the rhizosphere of the rice plants, is used to microbially oxidize the plant-derived organics. An electrical current was generated through the in situ oxidation of rhizodeposits from living rice plants. The electrical power output of a sediment microbial fuel cell was found to be a factor 7 higher in the presence of actively growing plants. This process offers the potential of light-driven power generation from living plants in a nondestructive way. Sustainable power productions up to 330 W ha(-1) could be attributed to the oxidation of the plant-derived compounds.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Liesje
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Schamphelaire
authors.forename: Leen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van den Bossche
authors.forename: Hai Son
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Höfte
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boon
authors.forename: Korneel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rabaey
authors.forename: Willy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Verstraete
mesh_terms: D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D004560:Electricity; D004563:Electrochemistry; D012275:Oryza; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018517:Plant Roots