CIBMS | Plant waste degradation and bioelectricity production with microorganisms

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Today, increasing industrial activity and overpopulation are making the environment increasingly polluted. It is therefore necessary to promote the circular economy, or in other words, to use waste to produce value-added compounds. In the cells of all living organisms, oxidation and reduction reactions occur, characterized by the transfer of electrons from one molecule to another. This happens, for example, in microorganisms capable of degrading plant residues, which oxidize organic substrates to obtain energy using different enzymes. Humans can benefit from these processes to degrade waste that causes environmental problems. This strategy can reduce the environmental impact they generate and favor their conversion into molecules of interest, such as alternative fuels. Bioelectricity can also be generated from these organic wastes, using devices called Microbial Fuel Cells, which take advantage of the electrons from oxidation and reduction reactions. This workshop will test the enzymatic activity of fungi and bacteria on plant waste and build a microbial fuel cell to visualize the production of electricity from the degradation of plant biomass.