Rice Paddies Used as Microbial Fuel Cells to Produce Electricity

Rice paddies that generate 15% of the world's methane emissions cover up 400,000
square miles of land. Scientists think they have discovered a way to reduce the world's
methane production that produces electricty at the same time. According to a recent article
from Environmental Science & Technology, a method that takes advantage of a process
called rhizodeposition was described by a team of scientists. This method captures some of
the energy produced in rice paddies before it is transferred to methane.
Rhizodeposition is a natural process where plants transfer organic material through
their roots to the soil. It releases exudates and roots residues. These decompose and then
produce methane after. By using rhizodeposits, it is possible to reduce methane emissions.
The organic material produced by rhizodeposition will then generate electricity via sediment
microbial fuel cells (SMFC). In the author's SMFC design, the anode is dunked in the soil
where the plant is rooted and a cathode is placed in overlying water. Microbially catalyzed
oxidation of rhizodeposits delivers electrons to the anode. After that, the electron will now
then travel through an electrical circuit that contains a power user and then back to
cathode. When the cathode was reached already, the electrons react with available oxygen.
The scientists believe that this process can produce power from living rice plants.
The scientists tested the performance of SMFCs in rice paddies for over a span of two
years already. They found out that through the use of SMFCs, the oxidation of rhizodeposits
does produce electrical power in a sustainable way. The highest sustained electrical output
was 339 W per hectare of growing area. The SMFCs have a coulometric efficiency of 31
percent and an energetic efficiency of 9 percent.
Data regarding the level of methane emissions from the plants that were coupled
with SMFCs were not provided by the scientists. Apparently, once the rhizodeposits have

been oxidized at the anode, their chemical makeup has changed enough to reduce methace
formation.
The ability to generate and produce energy from the process of rhizodeposition gives
many advantages despite of methane reduction. We can say that the method is renewable,
nondestructive, and economical. The living plants will continuously deliver organic materials
to the SMFC for oxidation at the anode. It is also cheap to construct SMFCs compared to
other devices such as photovoltaic cells, which require expensive materials. The efficiency of
SMFCs needs improvement, bit further engineering should be able to upgrade the system.
Overall, the researchers think that they have effectively showed and demonstrate the
potentialfor sustainable energy production by coupling SMFCs with plants.

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