A Study on PMFC Operation with Aquaponics System

In recent years, all over the world has been facing serious food problems. Thus, plant factory-based agriculture has been attracting attention as one of the solution. However, this farming style has the problem about high energy costs. Many factories are in deficit, therefore, it is necessary to conserve power in cultivation systems and utilize new energy sources. In this paper, we examine the possibility of energy cost reduction by introducing biomass power generation using microorganisms in plant factories. In the experiment, the effects on power generation with and without plants and with and without an aquaponics system are compared. The maximum generated voltage through a 100 Ω resistor in the aquaponics system with plants, in the aquaponics system without plants, outside the aquaponics system with plants, and outside the aquaponics system without plants are 24.23 mV, 16.76 mV, 1.21 mV, and 9.77 mV, respectively. These results indicate that power generation is more effective in aquaponics with plants.