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Electricity Generation and Plastic Waste Reduction Using the Fungus Paecilomyces as a Biodegrader in Microbial Fuel Cells
Summary
Researchers demonstrated that the fungus Paecilomyces can simultaneously generate electricity and break down plastic waste in microbial fuel cells. The system produced measurable voltage and current while reducing chemical oxygen demand by over 85%, and infrared spectroscopy confirmed degradation of the plastic material, suggesting a dual-purpose approach to waste reduction and energy generation.
The great utility that plastics generate for society has generated a large amount of waste, producing tons of garbage from this material that damages the ecosystem, human health, and farmland. Likewise, the issue of the absence of electricity in low-income areas is critical for society. This research proposes a novel solution to simultaneously solve these two problems, which, through single-chamber microbial fuel cells, introduce plastic waste and the fungus Paecilomyces. The microbial fuel cells (MFCs) showed a maximum electric current of 0.547 ± 0.185 mA with a peak voltage of 0.575 ± 0.106 V on day 36; on this day, the MFCs operated with a pH of 6.524 ± 0.360 and electrical conductivity of 264.847 ± 6.395 mS/cm. These results demonstrate the potential of this system to generate electricity from plastic waste, addressing the issue of electricity scarcity in low-income areas. The chemical oxygen demand was also reduced by 85.47%, indicating the system’s ability to degrade plastic waste. The power density calculated on day 36 was 0.0624 ± 0.0053 mW/cm2 at a current density of 0.0052 mA/cm2 and an internal resistance of 55.254 ± 7.583 Ω. The reducing action of the fungus on the plastic was demonstrated in the FTIR transmittance spectrum because the characteristic peaks (3378, 2854–2911, 1642, 1472, and 720 cm−1) of the plastic suffered reductions in the final state, and the micrographs of the plastic surfaces showed the lifting of layers and the formation of irregular structures and a decrease in the thickness of the plastic sample of 139.66 ± 4.19 µm.
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