Sweet Idea: Waste Energy Not Wasted
Date: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 @ 22:35:06 UTC
Topic: Science
A new bacterial battery idea could help scientists turn waste products into an abundant source of energy.
Scientists are researching the use of a bacterium found in sediment as a source of energy.
The report indicates that a microbial fuel cell could convert sugars into electricity with over 80 percent efficiency. The design is simpler than most and does not require the intermediaries that could allow this model to use some waste materials as a potential fuel.
According to the article in Scientific American, Swades K. Chaudhuri and Derek R. Lovley of the University of Massachusetts used Rhodoferax ferrireducens, a bacterium first isolated from sediments collected in Virginia, for the model.
You can read the complete story at:
http://www.sciam.com/news_directory.cfm
(Click on Bacterial Battery story)
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