Electricity from living plants
Just imagine, a house with a roof full of plant life powering your home. It’s pretty cool to imagine, isn’t it? More and more energy innovations seem to be emerging every single day.
It is established that scientists from the Netherlands (Plant-e company) develop products in which electricity is generated from living plants. The technology is based on natural processes of plants via photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis produces organic material in plants. A portion of this organic material is used for the plant’s own growth but a large part can not be utilized and is excreted in the ground via the roots, where live bacteria that break down organic matter. These bacteria are also able to metabolize glucose and break down these sugars, releasing protons and electrons into the soil. Scientists have used this knowledge to create a system that captures these electrons, transmits them to the carbon anode and cathode, and produces electricity. System consisting of carbon-containing anode and cathode. In the anode compartment, the scientists inoculated bacteria as biocatalysts, and introduced the roots of the plants. Electrons released from bacteria flow from the anode to the cathode due to the potential difference.
In the Netherlands, scientists, experimenting with different materials in the anode and cathode, obtain from one flower 300-350 millivolts from a plant.
Еcologically clean energy from plants is possible. It enables to produce electricity with living plants at practically every site where plants can grow. The technology is based on natural processes and is safe for plants, bacteria and the environment.
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