Preparation of biofertilizer blend from banana peels along with its application in agriculture and plant microbial fuel cell

Abstract

Bananas comprise essential nutrients which can be used for a variety of purposes. This study aims at the preparation of a bio-stimulating fertilizer from banana peels. Different physical and chemical characterizations of the extracted biofertilizer were performed. The biofertilizer extracted from banana peels was applied to a black gram crop grown in a plant microbial fuel cell (PMFC). According to the results, an increase in the dose of banana peel extract to the black gram crop caused the germination rate to increase. After 7 days of planting, the germination rate of the black gram crop improved from 12% (control without biofertilizer) to 100% (20 ml/l of biofertilizer). The maximum power density recorded in PMFC employed with biofertilizer was 260 mW/m2 which was 2.65 times higher than the control. Higher biomass was also obtained with the addition of biofertilizer in PMFC within 60 working days which in turn led to higher generation of bioelectricity.