Potential of Electricity Production Out of Banana Peel (Musa Paradisiaca L.

) Waste Using
Microbial Fuel Cell

Paguirigan, Jaela Shaiza L.

Tungcul, Bryan James C.
Manaligod, Maria Anika Faith Q.
Lappay, Jovil Margarette B.
Ligutan, Angelique Claire R.
Ganela, Keziah Fyell Mikhaela
Singh, Gurjinder
Quilang, Rhyn Richmond P.
Valdez, L’renz Philip Z.
Researchers

Mrs. Janet M. Medico

Research Adviser

CHAPTER I

I. Background of the Study

Our world is facing an exponentially growing demand for energy, resulting in the

continuous use of fossil fuels. Since the mid-19th century, societies have dramatically increased

the level of public health by the appropriate separation and treatment of human wastes and

unbalanced energy management due to increasing energy consumption. The world today is

undoubtedly facing a serious energy crisis, and energy demand in the whole world continues to

increase at an unsustainable pace. Fossil fuels generate carbon dioxide, giving rise to global
warming. Due to fossil fuel depletion and the industry's rapid growth, it is critical to developing

environmentally friendly and long-term alternative energy technologies. According to the

research, Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a powerful platform for extracting energy from various

sources and converting it to electricity. Besides, waste management remains a significant

obstruction to the different sectors of society. However, with the use of microbial fuel cells or

MFC, there is a big possibility that we can solve these problems. MFC is a device that is

capable of producing electricity from respiring microbes. It is a sustainable source of renewable

energy. Not only can we have electricity, but we can lessen fruit waste.

Currently, more than 85% of the total power consumed globally is obtained by the

combustion of oil, coal, and natural gas. The increasing global electricity demands have

triggered a demographic explosion, which, along with industrialization, has depleted the

available fossil fuel resources, considerably affecting the environment. Therefore, the scientific

community has been compelled to seek alternative energy resources, including renewable

sources. Renewable resources are those based on which energy can be generated

continuously without any fear of exhaustion in the short or medium term. Some examples of

renewable energy include solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric power. Also, did

you know that hydroelectric power is the most prominent source of generating electricity? This

type of energy constitutes approximately 87% of the total renewable energy used worldwide.

Further, bioenergy, renewable energy derived from non-fossil organic material of biological

origin, has recently emerged as a natural substitute for the energy produced from non-

renewable sources. Bioenergy can be used to generate electricity; thus, forestry and agricultural

waste, as well as organic waste, are expected to become the primary sources of bioenergy in

the future.

To lessen the exponentially growing demand for energy that results in the
continuous use of fossil fuels, the researchers themselves are experiencing, they came up with

the research about the Potential of Electricity Production Out of Banana Peel (Musa Paradisiaca

L.) Waste Using Microbial Fuel Cell.

II. Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the Potential of Electricity Production Out of Banana Peel

(Musa Paradisiaca L.) Waste Using Microbial Fuel Cell.

Specifically, this investigation endeavored to answer the following:

1. As per ranking, and among the three types of banana peel present, what type of

banana peel produced the highest voltage of electricity?

a. Latundan

b. Cardava/Saba

c. Lakatan

2. As per ranking, and among the three types of banana peel present, what type of

banana peel produced the highest current?

a. Latundan

b. Cardava/Saba

c. Lakatan

III. Significance of the Study

This study seeks to generate electrical power from Banana Peel (Musa

Paradisiaca L.) using an MFC and monitor the voltage and current exhibited by the cells in

banana peel substrate.

 The Electricity Production out of Banana Peel, if proven effective, will be leveraged as an

environment-friendly electric power source, helping the society to better manage their own

waste.

IV. Scope and Delimitation

The focus of this study is to determine the Potential of Electricity Production of Banana

Peel (Musa Paradisiaca L.) Waste Using Microbial Fuel Cell. This investigation focuses solely

on the potential of banana peel to produce electricity and if examined coherent, may open doors

to interested scientists and companies to enhance the possibility of using this study

for alternative power sources to the ones being used today. Whatever changes will be noted

and be presented to the recommendations for further study.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies after the thorough and in-depth

search done by the researchers. This will also present the synthesis of the potential of electricity

production out of banana peel waste and its framework to fully comprehend the research to be

done.

Related Literature and Studies

Alternative sources of electricity such as hydroelectric power plants are still few in
the country. In other states, including developing countries, methane digester systems are

being used to harvest energy from biomass. However, using these systems are very expensive

and is subject to several processes including combustion that releases harmful gases. (Bilcan et

al, 2003). To provide a solution for the demand for energy, scientists have been studying

diverse organisms that may take part in the search for an alternative source for electrical

energy. In addition to these technologies an attractive and novel alternative for the conservation

of chemical energy into electrical energy is the development of microbial fuel cells (MFCs).

(Katz et al. 2003; lovely 2006).

A microbial fuel cell is a device that converts chemical energy to electrical energy by the

catalytic reaction of microorganisms. (Allen and Bennetto 1993; Wingard et al. 1982., Reimers

et al. 2001., Kim H.j. et al. 2002.). In addition, the MFCs offer an environmentally friendly

alternative to fossil fuels. (Lovely 2006; Katz et al. 2003). Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have

recently gained popularity due to their ability to generate cleaner electricity directly from organic

substrates. MFCs are typically composed of a biological anode and an abiotic cathode

separated by an easily fouled ion exchange membrane (Zhao et al., 2006).

Banana peel is one of the important wastes generated in large quantities due to banana

fruit consumption. Banana peel contributes about 40% of total weight of the fresh banana fruit

(Anhwange, 2008), and thus it is estivated that the banana industry produces more than 57.6

million metric tons of banana peels annually (Ahmad and Danish, 2018). The main constituents

of banana peel are cellulose, pectin, chlorophyll and low molecular weight species, and some

other substances including lipids (1.7%), proteins (0.9%), crude fiber (31%) and carbohydrates

(59%) were also found (Munagapati et al., 2018). Several tons of banana peels are produced

everyday in fruit market and household garbage, creating a severe environmental problem

because of anaerobic digestion of the biomass mentioned above. Accordingly, in order to bring

an additional economic gain for the agricultural industry and alleviate the local environmental

pressure, researchers have been trying to develop effective methods to convert banana peels
into useful materials, such as adsorbents (Munagapati et al., 2018), indigenous medium (Kindo

et al., 2016), super capacitors (Zhang et al., 2016b), semiconductor nanoparticles (Bisauriya et

al., 2018), methane production (Odedina et al., 2017), nano-composites (Pelissari et al., 2017)

and so on. In comparison, utilizing banana peels to generate electricity in MFCs was scarcely

reported (Lalitha and Kanakaraju, 2015).

P-FET fluctuation can be almost fully accounted for by dopant fluctuation regardless of

device generations and designs, whereas extra fluctuation mechanism(s) significantly

contributes to N-FETs (IEEE, 2007).

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Research Design

The researchers will use Experimental Design as the main approach for this

investigation. Three (3) experimental set-ups will be prepared with the three (3) varieties of

banana sludge known as the Lakatan, Latundan and Cardava. The researchers also agreed to

test the different type of banana sludges five (5) times for a reliable comparison of ranges in

regards to the voltage and current. Then, the experimented design with the use of tables will be

utilized.

EXPERIMENTAL TABLE
TYPES OF BANANA VOLTAGE CURRENT

1. LAKATAN - -

2. LATUNDAN - -
 TYPES OF BANANA VOLTAGE CURRENT

3. CARDAVA/SABA - -

- - -

- - -

B. Materials and Equipment

MATERIALS QUANTITY
Banana Peels Amount of banana peels in 1 container
Identical containers with lids 2
Water -
Multimeter/Tester 1
Copper wires 2
Salt -
Aluminum Mesh 2
Unsweetened Gelatin 1
PVC Pipe 1
Container 3
Knife 1
Blender 1
Alligator Clips 2
Scissors 1
Spoon 1
Paper Clips 4
Vulcaseal 1
Screw driver 2
Candle 1
C. Procedure

C1. Product Making

Gathering of Materials

The banana peels will be collected manually. The multimeter/tester, PVC pipe,

aluminum mesh and copper wires will be provided by each assigned member. Other

materials will be provided from the researcher’s residence.

Preparation of the Banana Sludge

Chop the three (3) varieties of banana peels first. Utilize a blender and mix every

type of banana peel with water creating a mixture called slurry. Same amount of mixture

for every banana peel will be placed inside the three (3) containers. Wait until the

yellowish transparent mixture turns black.

Preparation of the Microbial Fuel Cell

While waiting for the banana sludge, make a two-chamber microbial fuel cell.

Make a hole on the lids of the container for the coppers on the aluminum mesh to stick

out of. This is for the positive and negative wires to go through. Then, form other holes in

the lid of the cathodic chamber for air to pass through. Use two (2) circular plastic

containers and make a hole on the pipe to fit in. Put a copper wire inside the folded

aluminum mesh with the wire coming out from one end. provide two (2) sets of this set-

up for every chamber.

Preparation of the Salt Bridge

Dissolve salt in water. Add unsweetened gelatin to the solution for it to solidify.
Heat the solution for some time and place it in the PVC pipe. Cool it down and then use

it to connect the two chambers.

C2. Product Testing

Testing of the Product

Put the banana sludge in the anodic chamber while tap water in the cathodic

chamber of the microbial fuel cell. Close the containers using the lids. Utilize a

multimeter/tester to measure the voltage and current of the microbial fuel cell set-up.

Place the red probe of the multimeter to the copper wire of the cathodic chamber (the

one with tap water) while the black probe for the anodic chamber (the one with banana

sludge). Use alligator clips to make a temporary connection between the two wires.

Data Gathering

As stated in the research design, the researchers agreed to test the different type

of banana sludges five (5) times for a reliable comparison of ranges in regards to the

voltage and current. The researchers will also observe the order of the varieties of

banana sludge that will be tested to determine what’s the highest electricity-producing

banana sludge, as well as the type that produced the highest current.

Data Analysis

To further understand the future results, we will be recalling what does it takes to

be able to produce an electric current. Three (3) things are needed: a supply of electric

charges (electrons) which are free to flow, some form of push to move the charges

through the circuit and a pathway to carry the charges. This is why the anode, which is

the electrode where electricity moves into is actually the banana sludge. And the

cathode, the electrode where electricity is given out or flows out, is basically the

chamber that carries the water. The anode is usually the positive side and the cathode is
a negative side. To analyze if there’s really a potential of electricity production, the

researchers will base on what result will the multimeter/tester give.