The P-MFC technology, which acts as an energy source, is one of the promising methods to reduce environmental pollution. In the present study, the P-MFC was constructed using Oryza sativa (Paddy plant), and various electrode materials like carbon, copper, and titanium oxide were used as cathode and aluminum as anode. The experiment was carried out for 34 days. The plant growth was periodically observed and measured, significantly increasing to produce electricity. The highest growth rate was recorded as 52 +/- 1.20 cm whereas the power output varies between P-MFCs. The maximum output voltage was obtained as 1320 +/- 230 mV in the copper- based P-MFC. The voltage disparity in PMFCs stipulates using different electrode materials in P-MFC systems resulting in assorted competence of electricity production. The analysis of the plant roots after the experiment revealed increased concentration of amino acid and carbohydrate. According to the correlation analysis, the plant growth was indistinguishable from agricultural field plants, which indicates that P-MFC installation does not cause any crop damage. Available Microbial load on electrode material and rhizospheric soil resembles bacterial population-induced power generation. This study demonstrated that P-MFCs with paddy plants and copper electrode are a favorable and assured application for future potential electricity production.

Soil tensile strength is a critical parameter governing the initiation and propagation of tensile cracking. This study proposes an eco-friendly approach to improve the tensile behavior and crack resistance of clayey soils. To validate the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed approach, direct tensile tests were employed to determine the tensile strength of the compacted soil with different W-OH treatment concentrations and water contents. Desiccation tests were also performed to evaluate the effectiveness of W-OH treatment in enhancing soil tensile cracking resistance. During this period, the effects of W-OH treatment concentration and water content on tensile properties, soil suction and microstructure were investigated. The tensile tests reveal that W-OH treatment has a significant impact on the tensile strength and failure mode of the soil, which not only effectively enhances the tensile strength and failure displacement, but also changes the brittle failure behavior into a more ductile quasi-brittle failure behavior. The suction measurements and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests show that W-OH treatment can slightly reduce soil suction by affecting skeleton structure and increasing macropores. Combined with the microstructural analysis, it becomes evident that the significant improvement in soil tensile behavior through W-OH treatment is mainly attributed to the W-OH gel's ability to provide additional binding force for bridging and encapsulating the soil particles. Moreover, desiccation tests demonstrate that W-OH treatment can significantly reduce or even inhibit the formation of soil tensile cracking. With the increase of W-OH treatment concentration, the surface crack ratio and total crack length are significantly reduced. This study enhances a fundamental understanding of eco-polymer impacts on soil mechanical properties and provides valuable insight into their potential application for improving soil crack resistance. (c) 2024 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).