Abstract
Soil Microbial Fuel Cells (Soil MFCs) are a groundbreaking technology that can revolutionize precision agriculture by harnessing microorganisms in soil to generate energy. This energy can power sensors that provide real-time data on soil health, enabling farmers to make more informed decisions on irrigation, fertilization, and other inputs.This study explores the electrochemical response of SMFCs to different plant growth stages and aims to directly detect and identify these stages. Preliminary findings indicate that the output voltage of Soil MFCs is affected by light exposure and photosynthetic activity. Machine learning techniques, such as 1D convolutional networks, were applied to identify different plant growth stages from SMFC outputs. This information can be used to not only complement traditional crop health monitoring methods, but also to aid automated harvesting, all whist outputting electrical energy.
In order for any machine learning and data analytical techniques to be applied, the data must be clean and consistent. Therefore, different methods to achieve repeatable experimental results were researched. These results and recommendations are documented. It was found that seeding an initially sterile soil sample with microbes has the potential for the procurement of similar microbiomes in each MFC.
Another key consideration was the effect of the Soil MFCs on the plants. No statistically significant negative impacts on plant growth for the species tested due to the presence of MFCs was found.
The outcomes of this work aim to lay a solid foundational basis to show the potential application of Soil MFCs in applications such as smart agriculture. By complementing traditional soil health monitoring methods, SMFCs can provide farmers with a more comprehensive understanding of their soil and crops, leading to improved crop yields and overall agricultural productivity. Moreover, this technology can significantly reduce nutrient run-off and associated environmental pollution by informing the exact amount of fertilisation the crop soil requires. Much of this work is preliminary however, a brief exploration of the implication of the results and possible future experiments has also been covered.
| Date of Award | 11 Sept 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Mirella Di Lorenzo (Supervisor), Benjamin Metcalfe (Supervisor) & James Doughty (Supervisor) |