Evaluation of the electrical efficiency of a sedimentary type of a plant-microbial fuel cell (pMFC) using sugarcane.

• Grant number: 24/23415-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Ernane José Xavier Costa
• Grantee: Juliana Bueno Freire
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

We live in a world where the search for alternative and sustainable energy sources is urgent. The information obtained about the state of the living plant is not yet directly related to its ability to produce energy, but numerous recent measurements carried out by scientists on living plants show that the sun-plant-soil-microorganisms system, known as "plant microbial fuel cell" (plant-MFC) generates electricity. The construction of an electronic instrumentation system to monitor electricity from the plant-MFC system and the establishment of a methodology for evaluating the systemic relationship between plant and electricity generation will allow the verification of the efficiency of such a system as an alternative source of electrical energy. (AU)