Bacteria-powered battery uses sugar

[PhotonBoy]

Bacteria-powered battery runs on a sweet tooth

"Scientists at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst have developed a battery that uses iron-breathing bacteria to eat the sugars in carbohydrates and turn them into electricity...."

 

[Phlack]

I think any kind of alternative power generation is worth looking into.

I just worry about the bacteria getting out of control. I don't know if it's a worry, but since I'm not an expert in that field, I'd be concerned.

 

[PhotonBoy]

It sounds like a relatively benign soil-based bacteria that's probably been around for millions of years. Certainly less threatening sounding to me than genetically modified corn or nuclear power.

 

[PsycoBob[Q2]]

I saw an article a few months back about this concept. (at the time, I don't think it was anything other than that...) Supposedly the biggest problem they were worried about was finding a way to make it run off table-scraps, rather than refined sugars.

Wouldn't you LOVE to have a compost-heap that runs your lights? Or a spetic tank that does the same? As susual, the cool stuff is 'just' around the corner. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

 

[Ferrous]

I heard about a fuel cell battery that someone made to run off of sewer gases. Unfortunately it was word of mouth.

 

[RevDavid]

[ QUOTE ]
Ferrous said:
...run off of sewer gases. Unfortunately it was word of mouth.

[/ QUOTE ]

ROFL /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif Good one!

David <><

 

[Charles Bradshaw]

Sewer gas aka Methane. hehehehe

 

[James S]

I think the problem with these is that you periodically have to open them up and scrape the scum off the electrodes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

And beyond the "word of mouth" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif you can indeed run a fuel cell on methane. It uses a "decomposer" or some such named device that splits the methane (or just about any hydrocarbon) into hydrogen and other stuff (mostly CO2 and water and maybe some nitrogen compounds?) and the hydrogen is actually going into the cell.

This is one of the reasons that the current auto companies are embracing fuel cells as opposed to batteries (as Darrel will chime in and tell you:)) is that they will continue to run on gas! It will be burned differently, but it will still be coming from oil fields...