Electricity Generation and Plastic Waste Reduction Using the Fungus Paecilomyces as a Biodegrader in Microbial Fuel Cells

Rojas-Flores Segundo (), Magaly De La Cruz-Noriega, Nélida Milly Otiniano, Cabanillas-Chirinos Luis and Luis M. Angelats-Silva
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Rojas-Flores Segundo: Institutos y Centros de Investigación de la Universidad Cesar Vallejo, Universidad Cesar Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Magaly De La Cruz-Noriega: Institutos y Centros de Investigación de la Universidad Cesar Vallejo, Universidad Cesar Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Nélida Milly Otiniano: Institutos y Centros de Investigación de la Universidad Cesar Vallejo, Universidad Cesar Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Cabanillas-Chirinos Luis: Investigación Formativa e Integridad Científica, Universidad César Vallejo, Trujillo 13001, Peru
Luis M. Angelats-Silva: Laboratorio de Investigación Multidisciplinaria, Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego, Trujillo 13008, Peru

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-10

Abstract: 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/cm 2 at a current density of 0.0052 mA/cm 2 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.

Keywords: degradation; plastic waste; microbial fuel cells; energy generation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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