Photoelectricity generation from beet juice in a bio-electrochemical cell

The world is striving for the development of novel clean energy technologies that can replace the utilization of fossil fuels, and assist in the struggle against climate change. A unique approach that does not involve any carbon emission is bio-photo electrochemical cells (BPECs). This method integrates live organisms with an electrochemical system, while native redox species that exist in the organisms can generate dark and photo electrical current. Such systems were previously shown using photosynthetic micro and macro organisms in which the photocurrent mostly derives from photosynthesis. Another electron source was reported to originate from cherries which consist of pigments and enhance the production of the strong electron donor ascorbic acid under solar irradiation. In this work, we show the ability to produce electrical and photoelectrical current from beet juice. We apply cyclic voltammetry and fluorescence methods to show that among the major components that play a role in the current and photocurrent generation are NADPH and flavins.