HARNESSING AND STORING ELECTRICAL ENERGY: RICE (ORYZA SATIVA)

AS SUBSTRATE IN A PLANT-MICROBIAL FUEL CELL

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

PRESENTED TO:

MARJUNE M. NEPAYA LPT, MEd-Math

Ormoc City Senior High School

Ormoc City

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Subject Requirement for

Practical Research II

by:

Gabrielle Anthony G. Codilla

Ephraim John C. Castro

April Mae U. Castro

John Raymond S. Cabunilas

July 2018
Background of the Study

Economic advancement is what strives a nation to progress. But what economy

fails to understand, is that poverty will be a hindrance to this vision of innovation. And

because of this limitation, many factors seem to affect this, especially since the

Philippines is a third world country and not all have the access and luxury as others do.

The Philippines is one of the largest agricultural countries in the world and is

responsible for exporting rice to many countries. The Philippines however, as a third-

world country suffers mainly on the concept of rural poverty, pollution and the lack of

access to electricity. Alternative sources of energy were built throughout the country such

as hydroelectric power, geothermal energy source, solar power and even biomass energy

(which in terms are also known as Microbial Fuel Cells). But these sources of energy

sometimes lack the convenience in certain remote areas, especially near rivers or rice

fields, which is of paramount abundance here in the Philippines. The introduction of the

Plant Microbial Fuel Cell takes place.

The Plant Microbial Fuel Cell (PMFC) is a modified version of the Microbial

Fuel Cell, unlike its counterpart, the PMFC utilizes the unique plant-microbe relationship

aerobic respiration in the rhizosphere section to generate a net of renewable, efficient and

green source of energy without having negative outcomes to the plant. The Plant
Microbial Fuel Cells applies electrodes to both the rhizosphere region, separated by a

natural membrane and into a hydrosphere region in which a driven current is produced.

The role of microbes driven by the soil physiochemical and biological characteristics is

further explored. Electrodes will be placed accordingly within the substrate, the design of

bioelectricity is viewed from a bio system engineering perspective rather than the MFC

methodology, which means that the electrode’s placement is different than the standard

MFC, and is conveniently expedient to harnessing certainly, collected electrical energy.

Currently, the Philippines uses the alternative power source of converting biomass

into electricity, this utilization of lessening pollution is implemented and given

affectivity. The harnessing of MFC (Microbial Fuel Cell) is up to date, used by the

department of science and technology an alternative power source and a factor to combat

pollution. But this renewable power source is only limited in specific areas, as cited in the

study “Microbial Fuel Cell: a new renewable source of energy: Pasig River Sediments for

Lighting” by Daisoy, B. (2011). Manifestation of the limitations of alternatives are

varied, PMFCs are not yet practiced by the Philippines, since its counterpart is currently

in effect.

This concept of an alternative source of energy could be very advantageous in the

Philippines, in areas with very little access to electricity, especially those near rice fields

and wetlands. Biomass fuel has been labeled and implemented in the Department of

Science and Technology (DOST) as renewable power source. The utilization of microbial
effectiveness in harnessing electricity via Microbial Fuel Cell has been proven effective.

The PMFC proposes a sustainable and clean way of harnessing electrical energy with

convenience. However, certain measures might also be considered, like storing this

harvested self-sustaining energy within a battery. With the conversion of Microbial

activity generated electrical energy to chemical energy, production and the accessibility

of transportable energy within rural vicinities would be less arduous. This concept

introduces another source of alternative and self-sustaining energy which could lead to

the solutions to several problems regarding the availability of electricity throughout the

world.

The researchers will be investigating the effectiveness of Rice Plant (Oryza

Sativa) as a Substrate in a PMFC’s electrical capacity to be stored in a dry cell.

Statement of the Problem

`This study aims to test the effects of methods used in storing electrical energy

within a rechargeable cell. The methods will then be applied for means of strong

electricity, which will be tested with a 1V light bulb to test its feasibility and

effectiveness.

This study also aims to answer the following questions:

General Research Question:

Was the Plant Microbial Fuel Cell setup able to effectively store electrical energy

within a rechargeable battery?

Specific Research Questions:

1.) Was the net electrical energy yielded able to reach the maximum threshold to

be able to store a 1V battery/ 3V battery?

2.) Is there spontaneous change of net electrical energy with/without the presence

of sunlight?

3.) What is the maximum net electricity yielded that has the most effectiveness to

charge a rechargeable battery?

The Significance of the Study

The findings of this research will prove useful to the following:

DOST (Department of Science and Technology) – The PMFC could be a

new introduction to the alternative power sources that offers a solution to

problems regarding the lack of electricity in rural areas. With the help of advance

sciences, this study could be developed to create an effective renewable power

source in the Philippines.

Rural Area Residents - The Philippines is a country of agriculture, the

presence of rice fields and other waterways like streams and small rivers can be

utilized as alternative bio-sources of electrical energy.

Schools and Establishments in Rural Areas - Schools and other buildings

that have little or no access to electricity can utilize nearby rice fields and rivers

as power sources. This sort of method could lessen School expenses and can

offer a solution to electricity problems.

Scope and Delimitation

This research attempts to investigate the capability of Rice PMFC to be stored in a

rechargeable battery. The study will only be conducted with a setup composed of limited

number of rice stalks, each with the same mass, in a controlled environment. The study

was limited to this setup to test its capability to store electricity in small quantities.

It should be noted that the present study did not cover rice fields around the

vicinity of Ormoc City. The researchers lacked the monetary fund, level of

professionalism and local government permission to conduct a study on the areas

specified.