Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry

ISSN: 0916-8451 (Print) 1347-6947 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbbb20

Factors Affecting Electric Output from Rice-Paddy

Microbial Fuel Cells

Kazuko TAKANEZAWA, Koichi NISHIO, Souichiro KATO, Kazuhito HASHIMOTO

& Kazuya WATANABE

To cite this article: Kazuko TAKANEZAWA, Koichi NISHIO, Souichiro KATO, Kazuhito
HASHIMOTO & Kazuya WATANABE (2010) Factors Affecting Electric Output from Rice-Paddy
Microbial Fuel Cells, Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 74:6, 1271-1273, DOI: 10.1271/
bbb.90852

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1271/bbb.90852

Published online: 22 May 2014.

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Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem., 74 (6), 1271–1273, 2010

Note
Factors Affecting Electric Output from Rice-Paddy Microbial Fuel Cells
Kazuko T AKANEZAWA,1; * Koichi N ISHIO,1 Souichiro K ATO,2
Kazuhito H ASHIMOTO,1;2; y and Kazuya W ATANABE2;3; y
1
Department of Applied Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
2
Hashimoto Light Energy Conversion Project, ERATO, JST, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
3
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo,
Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan

Received November 17, 2009; Accepted March 3, 2010; Online Publication, June 7, 2010
[doi:10.1271/bbb.90852]

Rice-paddy microbial fuel cells generate electricity
from organic matter that is photosynthesized by rice
plants and exudated from the roots. We examined
factors that might affect cell performance, and found
that cathode modification with platinum catalysts,
anode position, and external load largely affected the
power output.
Key words: sustainable energy; biomass; photosynthesis;
microbial fuel cell; rhizodeposit
Plant photosynthesis fixes carbon dioxide in the air to
produce organic matter that serves as the primary
source of carbon and energy for most organisms. Such
organic matter (biomass) has also been utilized as an
energy source for human society. Recently, a novel
concept has been proposed for on-site conversion of the
energy conserved in photosynthesized organic matter
into electricity.1–3) To cite an instance, Strik et al.
developed a laboratory pot-culture system to generate
electric power from organics exuded from the roots of
reed mannagrass.1) In their system, a graphite-felt (GF)
anode was embedded in soil in the pot, and a cation-
exchange membrane was equipped between the pot
anode and a neighboring cathode compartment to
establish a plant microbial fuel cell (plant MFC). A
similar laboratory pot experiment was also carried out
with rice plants.2) Furthermore, on-site electricity
generation in a rice paddy field (paddy-field MFC,
PF-MFC) has been demonstrated.3) In that field trial,
GF anodes and cathodes were set in the rice rhizo-
sphere and in flooded water respectively, and it was
observed that the electricity (as high as 6 mW m
2 ,
normalized to the anode projection area) was generated
in a sunlight-dependent manner.3) Results have sug-
gested that the paddy-field electricity-generation system
is an ecological solar cell in which plant photosynthesis
is coupled to the microbial conversion of organics into
electricity.3) Despite these efforts, electric outputs from
these systems are still low, and it is important to
identify the factors that affect them. In the present
work, we examined factors that might affected PF-MFC
performance, and discuss how electric output can be
improved.
We used an area of a rice paddy situated in the
Hiratsuka field of the Kanagawa Agricultural Technol-
ogy Center. The configuration of the PF-MFC system
was fundamentally the same as that described previ-
ously,3) while one electrode system was set for one
rice-plant hill (Fig. 1). An anode (projection area,
628 cm2 ) and a cathode (628 cm2 ) were circular (15 cm
in diameter) and were made of graphite felt (3 mm in
thickness, GF-80-3F; Sohgoh Carbon, Yokohama,
Japan). The electrode had a single hole (10 cm in
diameter) in the center for planting a rice-plant hill.
The anode and cathode were connected via epoxy-
encapsulated wires, and the circuit was completed using
an external resister. The voltage across the resister was
monitored automatically every 5 min using a data logger
(HA-1510; Graphtec, Tokyo). Rice-plant seedings
(Oryza sativa L. cv. Satojiman) were transplanted on
June 20, 2008 and were cultivated by the standard
procedure,3) after which the voltage was monitored. In
order to evaluate cell performance, a polarization curve
was made using a potentiostat machine (HSV-100,
Hokuto Denko Corporation, Tokyo) in the daytime on
July 25 (a sunny day), as described elsewhere,4) and cell-
performance indices, open-circuit voltage (Voc ), short-
circuit current density per projection area of the anode
(Isc ), and maximum power density per projection area of
the anode (Pmax ), were estimated.
In order to analyze factors that might affect PF-MFC
performance, MFC systems were set under different
conditions (Table 1a). These conditions were set ac-
cording to our knowledge of laboratory MFC reactors,
but the rate-limiting step is different reactor by reactor
even for laboratory reactors, and we had no idea as to
how these conditions would affect the performance of
PF-MFC. It was thus important to examine these
operational conditions experimentally. Among these
conditions (Table 1a), a number of anode felts were
changed (compare conditions 1 and 2), one versus five
(vertically aligned), since we considered that more
organic exudates from roots could be utilized for
microbial anode respiration if the roots were contacted
by more anode felts. The anode position (depth of the
anode) corresponded to the distance between the anode
and a cathode that was placed at the surface of the soil

y
To whom correspondence should be addressed. Kazuhito HASHIMOTO, Fax: +81-3-5452-5749; E-mail: hashimoto@light.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Kazuya
WATANABE, Fax: +81-3-5452-5749; E-mail: watanabe@light.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
* Present address: Saku Factory, Toshiba, 9 Nenei, Saku, Nagano 385-0012, Japan
1272 K. TAKANEZAWA et al.

(conditions 1 and 3). The anode/cathode distance is First, the number of anode graphite felts did not
known to influence MFC performance, since it affects greatly influence cell performance (compare the data
proton diffusion from anode to cathode.5) We also for conditions 1 and 2). We think that this was because
investigated the effects of cathode modification with a the rice roots did not penetrate deeply into the graphite
platinum catalyst (conditions 1 and 4), since the catalyst felt; this was checked by visual inspection after the
can largely accelerate oxygen reduction.6) A platinum experiment.
catalyst (TEC10E20A, Tanaka kikinzoku Hanbai, Second, an anode depth of 5 cm was better than 2 cm
Tokyo) was suspended in a nafion solution (5 wt. %; (compare the data for conditions 1 and 3). This suggests
Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO), the suspension was that proton-transfer efficiency (from the anode to
applied to the cathode at 1 mg platinum cm
2 (geometric cathode) did not limit the electric output from PF-
surface area) and was fixed by drying in air. Finally, we MFC. Two reasons are conceivable for the high
examined several different external loads (conditions 1, performance with the anode at a depth of 5 cm: (i) the
5, and 6) during the operation of PF-MFC, since it has zone at a depth of 2 cm was not sufficiently anaerobic,
been reported that external loads influence the electric resulting in the presence of oxygen, which served as an
output of laboratory MFC reactors.7) In the experiment, alternative electron sink; (ii) more rice-plant roots were
triplicate PF-MFCs were set for each condition. associated with the anode at 5 cm than that at 2 cm,
After the start of the experiment, the electric output resulting in larger amounts of organics supplied for the
gradually increased. It was high in the daytime and anode at 5 cm. We think that the first explanation is
decreased at night, showing a circadian oscillation (data unlikely, since the oxidation/reduction potentials (vs. a
not shown). As a long-term trend, electric output standard hydrogen electrode) for the zones at 2 cm and
increased after the rainy season ended (day 30 and 5 cm in depth were not substantially different (
158 mV
later). These daily and seasonal trends were similar to
those observed in our previous study.3) Polarization and Table 1. Experimental Conditions (a) and Cell-Performance Indices
power curves were made for each PF-MFC (Fig. 2), and (b) of the PF-MFCs
cell-performance indices were obtained from these a
curves (Table 1b). By comparing the results for these Depth of the
different conditions, we were able to draw several Anode External
top of anode GF-Cathode
conclusions. Condition GF-felt resister
below the soil modification
number (
)
surface (cm)
1 5 2 Pta 100
2 1 2 Pt 100
3 5 5 Pt 100
4 5 2 No 100
5 5 2 Pt 10
6 5 2 Pt 1000
a
a, platinum catalyst

b
Isc Voc Pmax
Condition
(mA m
2 ) (V) (mW m
2 )
1 60.5 0.20 3.52
2 47.8 0.22 3.96
3 135.9 0.25 9.82
4 45.8 0.20 2.32
5 78.3 0.20 2.16
6 162.5 0.35 14.44
Fig. 1. Experimental Setup of PF-MFC.

A B

Fig. 2. Polarization (A) and Power (B) Curves for PF-MFCs under Different Experimental Conditions (refer to Table 1a) as Measured on
July 25, 2008.
Symbols: condition 1, solid circles; condition 2, open circles; condition 3, solid triangles; condition 4, open triangles; condition 5, solid
squares; condition 6, open squares.
 Paddy-Field MFC
and
165 mV respectively). This is consistent with data
reported previously. For instance, Lüdemann et al.
documented for a rice paddy that oxygen was almost
completely absent at a depth of more than 2 mm from
the surface.8)
Third, the platinum catalyst improved performance
(conditions 1 and 4). This suggests that cathode-reaction
efficiency is important for electric output from PF-MFC.
Fourth, the external load influenced performance
(conditions 1, 5, and 6). This large influence was
surprising; in particular, it was unexpected that the high
load would result not only in high Voc but also in high
Isc . We assume that the operation of the MFC system at
high cell voltages facilitated the activation of anode-
respiring microbes. Further studies are necessary for a
deep understanding of this phenomenon, since this
approach can relatively easily improve cell performance.
In conclusion, this study examined factors that might
affect the performance of PF-MFCs. We suggest that
cathode modification with platinum catalysts, anode
position, and external load affect power generation in
PF-MFC. Recently, we performed a simulation experi-
ment on PF-MFC using pot cultivation of rice plants,
finding that the incorporation of the suggested optimum
conditions resulted in maximum power density increases
of up to approximately 30 mW m
2 (our unpublished
data). Several studies have previously demonstrated
plant-associated MFC systems,1–3) while it is still
unclear how the cell performance of these systems can
1273
be improved. We expect that the information reported
herein will be useful for improving plant-associated
MFC systems.
Acknowledgments
We thank the Kanagawa Agricultural Technology
Center for the management of the rice paddy. This work
was supported by the Exploratory Research for Ad-
vanced Technology (ERATO) program of the Japanese
Science and Technology Agency (JST).
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