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Powering the future with green nanomaterials: enhanced microbial fuel cells for plastic degradation, xylene tolerance, and biohydrogen production
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Scientists have created a system that uses plant-based nanoparticles and bacteria to break down plastic waste and toxic chemicals in dirty water, while also generating clean electricity and hydrogen fuel as byproducts. This matters because it tackles plastic pollution and water contamination, problems linked to microplastics entering our food and water supply, while producing usable energy, offering a potential two-for-one solution using eco-friendly materials instead of harsh chemicals.
Plastic pollution and aromatic hydrocarbon contamination pose escalating threats to global water quality, while the energy transition demands scalable, sustainable technologies capable of concurrent pollutant remediation and clean energy generation. Here, we report a proof-of-concept integrated bio-electrochemical platform that couples phytogenic iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg) nanoparticle-modified carbon cloth electrodes with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a dual-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC) using real municipal wastewater. Fe and Mg nanoparticles were synthesised via environmentally benign green routes using stem extracts of Hibiscus sabdariffa and Cascabela thevetia, respectively. P. aeruginosa achieved 40 ± 3.2% LDPE weight loss over 20 days and demonstrated robust xylene tolerance up to 30% (v/v), supported by rhamnolipid biosurfactant production and MexAB-OprM efflux systems. Nanoparticle modification significantly enhanced MFC performance, increasing open-circuit voltage to 872 ± 15 mV (Fe NPs) and 830 ± 14 mV (Mg NPs) versus 587 ± 16 mV for unmodified controls, yielding peak power densities of 70.76 ± 3.2 mW m⁻2 (Fe NPs) and 67.43 ± 2.8 mW m⁻2 (Mg NPs) enhancements of 134% and 123%, respectively. The system was successfully switched to microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) mode after 10 days, achieving cumulative hydrogen production of 4.12 ± 0.28 L L⁻1, an average rate of 0.206 ± 0.014 L L⁻1 d⁻1, and Faradaic efficiency of 78 ± 4% with Fe NPs. These results demonstrate effective coupling of biodegradation with multi-output energy recovery, although absolute power densities remain modest due to salt-bridge limitations. This integrated MFC-MEC platform offers a promising sustainable pathway for addressing plastic pollution and energy recovery from complex wastewater. A system architecture of the proposed Bio-electrochemical platform.
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Researchers investigated using dual-chamber microbial fuel cells to simultaneously biodegrade PET microplastics and generate bioelectricity. The study found that microbial consortia in the fuel cell setup could break down microplastics while producing usable electrical energy, offering a potentially sustainable approach to microplastic remediation in wastewater treatment.
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Scientists have developed a special material that uses sunlight to break down plastic waste while producing hydrogen, a clean fuel, essentially turning trash into energy. This matters because it offers a way to tackle plastic pollution (a major source of the microplastics now found in our food, water, and even our bodies) while creating renewable power, all without using toxic or expensive metals. While still an early-stage lab breakthrough, this approach could one day help reduce the plastic waste that breaks down into microplastics in our environment.
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