Waste Management xxx (2014) xxx–xxx

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Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Compost in plant microbial fuel cell for bioelectricity generation

M.A. Moqsud a,⇑, J. Yoshitake a, Q.S. Bushra a, M. Hyodo a, K. Omine b, David Strik c
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Japan
b
Department of Civil Engineering, Nagasaki University, Japan
c
Sub-department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Recycling of organic waste is an important topic in developing countries as well as developed countries.
Received 25 April 2014 Compost from organic waste has been used for soil conditioner. In this study, an experiment has been
Accepted 4 November 2014 carried out to produce green energy (bioelectricity) by using paddy plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs)
Available online xxxx
in soil mixed with compost. A total of six buckets filled with the same soil were used with carbon fiber
as the electrodes for the test. Rice plants were planted in five of the buckets, with the sixth bucket con-
Keywords: taining only soil and an external resistance of 100 ohm was used for all cases. It was observed that the
Bioelectricity
cells with rice plants and compost showed higher values of voltage and power density with time. The
Carbon fiber
Compost
highest value of voltage showed around 700 mV when a rice plant with 1% compost mixed soil was used,
Plant microbial fuel cell however it was more than 95% less in the case of no rice plant and without compost. Comparing cases
Voltage and waste with and without compost but with the same number of rice plants, cases with compost depicted higher
voltage to as much as 2 times. The power density was also 3 times higher when the compost was used in
the paddy PMFCs which indicated the influence of compost on bio-electricity generation.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction the electrochemically active bacteria at the anode by excreting rhi-

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical transducers
that convert microbial reducing power into electrical energy
(Bennetto, 1990; Allen and Bennetto, 1993; Logan and Regan,
2006; Moqsud et al., 2014). They use the available substrates from
renewable sources and convert them into harmless by-products
with simultaneous production of electricity (Moqsud et al., 2013,
2012a). Attempts have been made to apply MFC systems to recover
electric power from marine and river beds termed as sediment
MFCs (SMFCs) (Schamphelaire et al., 2008). These systems utilize
the natural potential gradient between the sediment and upper
oxic water, and electrons released by the microbial oxidation of
organic matter flow from the anode to the cathode through an
external circuit. Although the power output from SMFCs is moder-
ate, such levels of output are considered to be sufficient to serve as
remote power sources in aquatic environments in where there is
no other sources of electricity (Donovan et al., 2011).
Plant MFCs (PMFCs) with living plants are also a way to get
green energy (Strik et al., 2008). In PMFCs, plant roots directly fuel
⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Yamaguchi University, Tokiwadai 2-16-1, Ube shi 755-8611, Japan. Tel.: +81 836
859322; fax: +81 836 859301.
E-mail addresses: moqsud@gmail.com, azizul@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp (M.A. Moqsud).
zodeposits (Strik et al., 2011; Schamphelaire et al., 2008; Kaku
et al., 2008; Timmers et al., 2010; Helder, 2010). Reed mannagrass
had been used to generate bioelectricity by Strik et al. (2011). Kaku
et al. (2008) tried to develop a rice PMFCs, however, the voltage
generation was smaller and faced problems for growth of the roots
by the electrode materials. They did not try their PMFCs with com-
post and carbon fiber as electrode materials. A paddy field is a
flooded land used for growing rice. In Japan, paddy fields cover
2.5 million hector and occupy more than 50% of the total arable
land areas in this country (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, 2006). When a paddy field is flooded, the soil immedi-
ately below the surface becomes anaerobic (Takai, 1969) and a
community of anaerobic microbiota (comprised mainly of sul-
fate-reducing bacteria, iron-reducing bacteria, fermenting bacteria
and methanogenic archaea) is established (Grosskopf et al., 1998;
Chin et al., 1999). Since a potential gradient is known to be formed
between the soil and the flooded water, it was anticipated that an
SMFC system could operate in a rice field (Moqsud et al., 2013).
Strik et al. (2011) showed an estimated potential electricity pro-
duction of 21 GJ ha1 year1 (5800 kW h ha1 year1) in Europe
by using the PMFCs technology with reed mannagrass plant. The
electricity generated in rice PMFCs can be used for small scale elec-
trical appliances as well as to give some lights to the people of the
developing world.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.11.004
0956-053X/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Moqsud, M.A., et al. Compost in plant microbial fuel cell for bioelectricity generation. Waste Management (2014), http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.11.004
2 M.A. Moqsud et al. / Waste Management xxx (2014) xxx–xxx

Resource recovery such as bioelectricity from waste material is Table 1

an important topic both in developed countries as well as develop- Basic properties of soil and compost used in the experiments.

ing countries. Again, the annual organic waste generated from the Parameters Soil Compost
food industry and kitchen garbage in Japan is about 20 million tons pH 7.51 6.92
per year (Moqsud, 2012). Most of this waste is directly incinerated Loss on ignition (%) 7.5 Not measured
with other combustible waste, and the residual ash is disposed of Density of soil particles 2.671 Not measured
in landfills. However, incineration of this water-containing waste Carbon nitrogen ratio – 20
Moisture content (%) 35 40
is energy-consuming and results in the production of dioxins.
Instead of considering the organic waste as waste, it should be con-
sidered as valuable biomass for resource recovery. The objective of
this study is to evaluate bioelectricity generation by using rice and favorable materials for soil environment (Moqsud et al.,
plant microbial fuel cells (PMFCs) mixed with compost. 2013). The anode area covers around 125 cm2 inside the soil of
the PMFCs. The carbon fiber used in this study was designated as
T-300 with a density of 1.76 g/cm3.
2. Materials and methods
Fig. 2 illustrates the plan and cross-section of experimental set
up of the PMFCs.
2.1. Experimental set-up
The anode was set approximately 5 cm below the surface of the
soil, while the cathode was placed immediately above the soil sur-
Six buckets (Fig. 1) illustrate the test set up for the PMFCs in all
face, but under the water. These electrodes were connected via
cases. Buckets 1, 2 and 5 were prepared with the same soil without
epoxy-encapsulated wires, and the circuit was completed using
mixing any compost/organic fertilizer but the same number of
an external resister of 100 ohm.
paddy plants were planted. Bucket 3 and bucket 4 were prepared
with compost of 1% and 3% of the total soil (by weight), respec-
tively. Bucket 6 (Fig. 1) was prepared in the same way except that 2.3. Measurement and method
a paddy plant was not planted in order to compare the electricity
generation; with and without plants. There was no compost mixed The voltage across the resister was monitored by the voltmeter
in this bucket. Compost was collected from the local office of Japan every day at 11 am. Daily solar radiation and humidity data were
Agriculture (JA) of Yamaguchi Prefecture, which was mainly pre- collected from the local weather office of Yamaguchi Prefecture,
pared from kitchen and yard waste for possible use by the local Japan.
farmers and the chemical properties of this compost were similar Polarization curves and power density–current curves were
with other compost reported in Moqsud et al. (2011). Table 1 gives made by using different resisters and internal resistances and
the details of the materials used in the experiment and Table 2 power densities were calculated as described elsewhere (Logan
summarizes the different case conditions. For measuring all the and Regan, 2006). Electrode output was measured in volts (V)
parameters (including pH and LOI) the standard methods for soil against time. The current I in Amperes (A) was calculated using
testing provided by the Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS) were Ohm’s law,
used. I ¼ V=R ð1Þ

2.2. Experiments
In brief, 28 cm in length and 28 cm in diameter plastic buckets
were used for the PMFCs during the rice cropping season (from
June to September) in the Yamaguchi University engineering cam-
pus, Japan. Three replications were used in this experiment. The
soil used in the experiments was collected from Yamaguchi Prefec-
ture and classified as Onoda soil (pH 7.51 and organic matter con-
tent 7.5%). The rice plants were planted in the soil in each bucket
except for bucket 6. The rice plants used in the experiment were
the same rice plants which are used for a famous brand of rice in
Yamaguchi Prefecture. A circular shape electrode (both cathode
and anode, 50 g each) made of carbon fiber (Toray Industries,
Tokyo) was used in this PMFCs for the first time in the world in
PMFCs research. The carbon fiber is not only good at conducting
electricity with an electrical resistance of 5 ohm but also durable
where V is the measured voltage in volts (V) and R is the known
value of the external load resistor in Ohms (100 ohm in this study).
From this, it is possible to calculate the power output P in watts (W)
of the MFCs by taking the product of the voltage and current i.e.
P ¼ IxV ð2Þ
Current density was calculated using I ¼ V=aR ð3Þ
where a is the electrode area. Normally, the anode area is taken as
the electrode area. For example, if the electrode material is rectan-
gle the area will be simply length multiplied by width.
Statistical analysis: The total period of 14 weeks were divided
into 3 time frames according to trends observed in Fig. 4: weeks
1–4, weeks 5–10 and weeks 11–14. Paddy lengths among 3 types
of buckets were compared by a one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) with Tukey’s multiple comparison at each time frame

    

Fig. 1. Experimental setup of paddy plant microbial fuel cell in where bucket 3 and bucket 4 were mixed with compost (1% and 3%, respectively), bucket 1, 2 and 5 were same
design without compost and bucket 6 was both without compost and plants.

Please cite this article in press as: Moqsud, M.A., et al. Compost in plant microbial fuel cell for bioelectricity generation. Waste Management (2014), http://
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 M.A. Moqsud et al. / Waste Management xxx (2014) xxx–xxx 3

Table 2
Different parameters for all the six buckets at the starting of the experiment.

Parameters Bucket 1 Bucket 2 Bucket 3 Bucket 4 Bucket 5 Bucket 6

Soil (kg) 4 4 4 4 4 4
Compost (g) 0 0 40 120 0 0
pH 7.51 7.51 6.99 6.89 7.51 7.51
EC (mS/cm) 0.12 0.12 0.10 0.11 0.12 0.12
LOI (%) 7.5 7.5 9.1 9.2 7.5 7.5
Paddy (no.) 5 5 5 5 5 0
Electrodes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

almost constant in all the stages. A small amount of voltage was

Paddy
28 cm
(a) Plan
5HVLVWRU
Paddy
'DWDORJJHU
&DWKRGH
5cm
FP
$QRGH
Soil
FP
(b) Cross secon
Fig. 2. Plan and cross-section of the experimental setup.
(period). A P-value of <.05 was considered to be statistically
significant.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Variation of voltage generation with time and influence of solar
radiation
Fig. 3 illustrates the variation of voltage generation with time in
rice PMFCs in the soil. As buckets 1, 2 and 5 were prepared in the
same way and the results were also similar, only the results of
bucket 1 will be shown in the figures. It was observed that the volt-
age values were higher with paddies than without paddies (by
comparing bucket 6 with other buckets). Plants continuously pro-
vide an input of organic matter to the soil throughout their plant
life (Strik et al., 2011). The peak voltage generated in our study
was around 700 mV in PMFC with rice plants and compost (1%).
The PMFCs with compost (bucket 3 and bucket 4) showed higher
value of voltage than the PMFCs without compost (bucket 1). The
general trend of voltage generation was that it increased gradually
in the initial stage before becoming constant and finally it started
to decrease when the rice plants were ready to be harvested. In ini-
tial stage (1–2 weeks) voltage increased gradually and it was
almost constant and then voltage raised and reached to peak and
finally it started to decrease. However, the voltage generation for
the case of without paddy plants and compost (bucket 6) was
generated due to the potential difference between the anode and
cathode and also probably the phenomenon of organic matter
decomposition in the soil. Thus, rice MFC is an ecological solar cell
in which plant photosynthesis is coupled to the microbial conver-
sion of organics into electricity. Solar radiation has some effects
during the (weeks 2–10) of the experiment. When the solar radia-
tion was high the voltage generation was also high. After the
blooming of the rice the correlation of the voltage generation and
solar radiation was not so prominent (r = 0.2). This type of phe-
nomena was probably due to the food (glucose) produced in the
green leaves due to the photosynthesis being used by the rice grain
rather than being discharged into the soil.
3.2. Effect of humidity on voltage generation
Fig. 3 illustrates the variation of voltage with duration and
humidity. It is observed that there is no such significant relation
of humidity and voltage generation for all the cases; however, a
small variation was observed during the initial stage of the exper-
iment. Buckets 3 and 4 (with compost) showed higher values of
voltage with higher amounts of humidity. However, after the crops
began to bloom the similarity was not so prominent (r = 0.15).
Strik et al. (2008) achieved peak voltage around 250 mV by
using PMFCs of Glyceria maxima. Kaku et al. (2008) produced max-
imum voltage around 300 mV in their PMFCs of paddy plants.
Khare and Bundela (2014) got maximum voltage around 350 mV
from food industries waste water. Liu et al. (2013) showed a cou-
pled MFC with Ipomoea aquatic plant for constructed wetland
method and tried to enhance the voltage generation from waste
water and got around 650 mV. The generated voltage in our PMFCs
is higher than reported sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC) as well
(Schamphelaire et al., 2008). The maximum voltage generation in
this study was around 700 mV which was the highest so far in
PMFCs and MFCs research (Moqsud et al., 2014, 2013; Liu et al.,
2013; Strik et al., 2008; Khare and Bundela, 2014).
3.3. Variation of length of rice plant with time
Fig. 4 illustrates the growth of the rice plant over different
weeks. It was observed that the growth of the rice plant showed
gradual speed during the first 4 weeks. After that a dramatic
increase of the length was observed from weeks 5–10 for all cases.
In the final stage (weeks 11–14) the growth of the plants was
almost constant. The length of the rice plants at planting was
around 10 cm, but within 4 weeks it grew to around 100 cm for
bucket 3 and bucket 4 (buckets with compost). As mentioned ear-
lier, buckets 1, 2 and 5 were similar type of PMFCs and so only
bucket 1 is considered in Fig. 4. The final size of the rice was quite
similar with the final size of the rice plants in a real paddy field in
the Yamaguchi area. Thus it was seen that the additional electricity
generation did not have any effects on the growth of the rice
plants. As a matter of fact, we need not to destroy any food prod-
ucts (like corn and soybean for bio-fuels) to get bioelectricity from

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4 M.A. Moqsud et al. / Waste Management xxx (2014) xxx–xxx

100

90

Humidity
80

70

60

50
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

30
Solar Radiation (MJ/m2)

25

20

15

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
750
700
650 %XFNHW %XFNHW
600
550
Voltage (mV)

500 %XFNHW %XFNHW

450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
Duration (day)

Fig. 3. Variation of voltage generation with time and influence of solar radiation and humidity in different buckets.

120 0.5 25
Cell voltage

Power density (mW/m2)

100 Power density
0.4 20
Length (cm)

Cell voltage (V)

80
0.3 15
60
40 0.2 10
20
Bucket 1 Bucket 3 Bucket 4
0.1 5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Duration (Week) 0.0 0
0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03

P < .001 Current density (mA/cm2)

Length (cm) P < .05
P < .001
100 Fig. 5. Polarization curve of the plant microbial fuel cell from bucket 4 at the 10th
P < .05 Bucket 1
90 week after the experiment started.
Bucket 3
80
Bucket 4
70
60 paddy PMFCs. Also, when the compost was mixed with soil, the
50 growth of the rice plants was faster and also became bigger than
40 the paddy plants without compost. The amount of voltage gener-
30 ated was also enhanced when the compost was used. The power
20 density became 3 times more when compost was used in the
10
PMFCs. The compost supplied not only the required nutrients to
0
Weeks 1-4 Weeks 5-10 Weeks 11-14 the soil for paddy growth but also provided additional food (as
organic matter) to the bacteria living in the soil.
Fig. 4. Growth of rice plant (length) with duration in different weeks (upper figure).
Fig. 4 illustrates the comparison for changes in paddy length
Comparison for changes in paddy length among 3 types of buckets at 3 time frames.
Values are shown as mean + SD. P values indicate the level of significant difference among 3 types of buckets at 3 time frames. Values are shown as
by Tukey’s multiple comparison test. (Lower figure). mean + SD. P values indicate the level of significant difference by

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 M.A. Moqsud et al. / Waste Management xxx (2014) xxx–xxx 5

Tukey’s multiple comparison test. No difference in paddy length

was observed among 3 types of buckets in the first time period
(weeks 1–4). In the other two periods, compared to bucket 1,
paddy lengths were significantly higher in buckets 3 and 4; but
no difference in length was observed between buckets 3 and 4.

3.4. Polarization curve for PMFCs

Fig. 5 shows the polarization curve of the MFC by using PMFCs

in the experiment. A polarization curve is used to characterize cur-
rent as a function of voltage. The polarization curve shows how
well the MFC maintains voltage as a function of the current pro-
duction. This polarization curve in Fig. 5 was created at 10th week
after starting the experiment from bucket 4. The polarization curve
for all other buckets displayed similar trends. Thus, only one polar-
ization curve is illustrating in Fig. 5. The trend of the polarization
curve was very much similar with the polarization curve which
was stated in other literature concerning MFCs (Logan and
Regan, 2006; Moqsud et al., 2014; Moqsud et al., 2013). Fig. 5
Fig. 6. Attachment of carbon fiber with the root of PMFCs seen by electron shows the maximum power density of around 23 mW/m2. The
microscope. power densities showed an incremental trend with decreasing
external resistance and reaches to peak value. After that, the power
densities began to fall with increasing current density, which indi-
cated typical fuel cell behavior.
300
Bucket 1
Bucket 3 3.5. Carbon fiber as electrode materials
Bucket 4
Bucket 6
Voltage (mV)

200 Fig. 6 illustrates the interaction between the root of the paddy
and the carbon-fiber (anode). It is observed that the root of the rice
is closely attached with the ‘‘hair like’’ carbon nano fiber. In the
electron microscope, it was found that the roots could grow freely
100
without any negative affects due to the presence of carbon fiber.
So, if we use carbon fiber as electrodes then it will overcome the
problems of hindrance of growth of the root as was found in
0 Kaku et al. (2008).
8/25 11:00 23:00 8/26 11:00 23:00
Date and time 3.6. Effect of shading
Fig. 7. Influence of shading in PMFCs on voltage generation.
Fig. 7 illustrates the effects of sunlight on the voltage generation
in PMFCs. A black plastic sheet was used to shed 6 buckets after
measuring the voltage at 11 am. Different voltages were observed
Table 3
for different buckets. Bucket 3 showed around 280 mV of voltage
Comparison of voltage and power generated at the different cases of PMFC. and bucket 6 showed the minimum voltage of around 10 mV
before the shading. Then the voltage was measured again at
Case no. Peak voltage (mV) Maximum power density (mW/cm2)
11 pm at night and 11 am in the morning in the next day (in con-
Bucket 1 390 12.168 tinuous shading). It was found that the voltage did not change at all
Bucket 3 700 39.20
Bucket 4 680 36.99
after the shedding, either at night time or during day time, for all
Bucket 6 90 0.648 the 6 buckets. Bucket 6 showed almost constant voltage with
shedding and without shedding. It proved that PMFCs are a kind

Table 4
Summarizes the maximum and minimum 6 solar radiation and voltage generation.

Day Solar radiation (MJ/ Bucket 1 voltage Bucket 2 voltage Bucket 3 Voltage Bucket 4 voltage Bucket 5 voltage Bucket 6 voltage
m2) (mV) (mV) (mV) (mV) (mV) (mV)
56 27.85 138.7 110.1 230 207 49.5 9.8
50 27.22 145.2 112.5 123.1 110.3 104.9 38.6
53 27.18 99.6 83.5 198.9 183.1 62.1 16
51 27.13 163.3 139.7 190 190 150.7 36.8
14 26.99 51.1 40.8 21.4 61.1 21.1 30.1
55 26.93 140.1 112.9 239 224 56.3 12.7
57 7.11 7 9.5 19 135 2.2 10.2
36 4.39 57.4 63.1 106.5 143.2 60.3 42.2
33 4.29 37.1 30.3 110.1 102.9 41.1 33.2
26 3.9 37.1 30.3 107.6 94.4 34.4 28.2
16 1.61 59.4 37.1 61.1 52.3 45.1 40.4
35 1.48 45.2 34.9 209 105.5 45.9 33

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Table 5
Summarizes the maximum and minimum 6 humidity and voltage generation.

Day Humidity (%) Bucket 1 voltage Bucket 2 voltage Bucket 3 voltage Bucket 4 voltage Bucket 5 voltage Bucket 6 voltage
(mV) (mV) (mV) (mV) (mV) (mV)
35 94 45.2 34.9 209 105.5 45.9 33
36 94 57.4 63.1 106.5 143.2 60.3 42.2
16 93 59.4 37.1 161.1 152.3 45.1 40.4
26 92 37.1 30.3 107.6 94.4 34.4 28.2
22 91 63.4 64.5 376 327 123.1 42.2
25 89 59.5 62.9 145.8 101.4 42.3 30.4
54 69 169.1 152.2 256 291 154.2 40.1
56 69 138.7 110.1 230 207 49.5 9.8
57 69 125.6 119.1 249 231 51.7 40.2
79 68 10.2 4.1 121.5 231.7 0.3 10.6
80 68 105 64.8 223 171.4 13.2 14.8
63 67 100 110 150 170 15 10

of ecological solar cell in which both plant and solar energy are
required.
Renewable bio-energy is viewed as one of the ways to alleviate
fuel needs of the future and to overcome the crisis of global warm-
ing. In this way, bioelectricity production employing paddy micro-
bial fuel cells (PMFCs) has generated considerable interest in
recent years. Rice is grown in almost all of the countries in Asia
and many of them are suffering from lack of electricity and hunger
as well. Consequently, to use food products such as corn and soy-
bean to produce bio-fuel is not a good idea as it is an unnecessary
waste of precious food products for the millions of poor people in
these areas.
Table 3 summarizes the voltage and power generation in the
PMFCs. It is clear that when compost is used in the PMFCs then
the amount of voltage and power showed almost 3 times higher
than without using the compost. When the cell was without plants
and compost then the generated electricity was insignificant.
Tables 4 and 5 summarizes the maximum and minimum 6 solar
radiation and humidity days and consequent voltage generation in
those days. From Tables 4 and 5 it is observed that the compost has
really a significant effects on voltage generation in PMFCs.
4. Conclusions
In this study, compost was used in PMFCs for bioelectricity gen-
eration by using rice plants. The peak voltage generated in rice
PMFCs was around 700 mV with the rice plants when compost
was mixed with the soil. The power density became 3 times higher
when compost was used .The organic content added by compost
gives additional capacity to generate bioelectricity. This amount
of voltage was almost 5 times higher than previously reported
results (Moqsud, 2012). The growth of the rice was also reasonable
and the maximum length was around 100 cm. Therefore, the addi-
tional bioelectricity harvesting did not have any bad influence on
the growth of the plant life. The paddy MFCs can be used for bio-
electricity generation both in developed countries as well as elec-
tricity-scarce developing countries.
The organic waste can be recycled as compost generation and
can be used for enhancing the voltage generation in rice MFCs.
The PMFCs using compost proved to be a good way for green elec-
tricity generation as well as to recycle organic waste to maintain a
healthy and pollution free environment. Though the amount of
electricity is smaller in PMFCs using compost however, it is very
much needed for the future green energy era as we should not
needlessly damage any food products for bio-energy such as with
bio-ethanol or bio-diesel from corn and soybean against a back-
ground of millions of people in the world who cannot get food
every day.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support by
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (26630220) from Japan Society
for the Promotion of Science. Special thanks to Prof. M. Hossain for
his support for statistical analysis.
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Please cite this article in press as: Moqsud, M.A., et al. Compost in plant microbial fuel cell for bioelectricity generation. Waste Management (2014), http://
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.11.004