Bacteria Powered Batteries

Agent Provocateur writes "SpaceDaily reports on a battery that is powered by chemical reactions caused by bacteria. A Pentagon-backed project, University of Massachusetts researchers Swades Chaudhuri, an Indian, and Derek Lovley, an American, say the battery's source is an underground bacterium that gobbles up sugar and converts its energy into electricity. Their prototype device ran flawlessly without refuelling for up to 25 days and is cheap and stable." The chemistry behind this thing isn't really that complex - keeping the bacteria alive and kicking during that time is prolly the tougher part - you can read more on Al Jazeera, and USA Today. Now, what about replacing this battery?

Comments

Use in remote places

[Diver777]

I can definatly see a possible use for such a product in remote locations, such as while camping. Like the article points out

"Scientists say 50 grammes of sugar would keep a 40-watt light bulb lit for eight hours"

which is pretty damn good for having to carry a little bit of sugar (as well as the device) with you on your camping trip. The less you need to carry, the better!

I don't get something --

[Whispers_in_the_dark]

"It has to be able to use raw materials, rather than giving it refined fuel."

Huh? I for one would happily buy one if it could run my 40W max laptop for 8 hours on an ounce and a half (about 50 grams) of refined sugar. Why does it need further refinement before use?

Huge implications

[Anonymous Coward]

This is some serious tech advance, but there's just one last step to make.
From the article:

Team leader Chris Melhuish told New Scientist magazine said that although the new MCFs run on sugar cubes, the team aims to move on to carrot power.

"It has to be able to use raw materials, rather than giving it refined fuel."

Inside the battery, which is the size of a personal CD player, a colony of E.coli bacteria produce enzymes which break down carbohydrates and release hydrogen.

Chemical reactions inside the cell strip electrons from the hydrogen atoms to produce a voltage that can power a circuit.

Scientists say 50 grammes of sugar would keep a 40-watt light bulb lit for eight hours.

This I want to power my car. And laptop. And house appliances (not just so that I can pour coffee on my computer to recharge the battery)

This solves the hydrogen-storing problem in the hydrogen powered vehicles: no more dangerous concentration of hydrogen, instead you get a small tank containing bubbling "mud". Not quite inflammable in case of a collision.
Add to this that it's hardly polluting (just as much as taking a dump in a bosquet, I'd say), and it even helps reducing the amount of houseold garbage (Powerplants recycling garbage, anyone ?).

The main aspect of this energy source is that it completely suppress the need for combustion. Instead it uses slow, catalyzed, controlled chemical processes that use a lower amount of initial energy. No more smoke.

Maybe I'm overstating all this, but it definitely looks cool. And it's cheap, too. Carrot-powered car, coming our way !

Re:Huge implications

[Paladin814]

Maybe I'm overstating all this, but it definitely looks cool. And it's cheap, too. Carrot-powered car, coming our way !

This has more meaning then you might think for the economy. The idea that a country will not have to import oil any longer to maintain its power systems / gas requirements is just as important as the savings for the individual from not having to go to the gas station.

This would put farmers back to work producing carets in every country in the world, even giving 3rd world countries an exportable resource. Not to mention the environmental effects of having thousands of caret crops producing oxygen on top of a mass reduction of toxins being thrown into the air.

With this, every 3rd world country that does not have pollution laws will find it cheaper not to pollute, and everyone could meet the Kyoto protocol. I can just imagine the new commercials coming out from the "Juice Man" now. With him dumping his carets into a juicer and drinking the juice, putting the pulp into his car...

When will is use leaves and grass clippings

[aashenfe]

I wonder how much unused energy I rake off my yard every fall and send to the city compost pile.

What I need is a back yard composter/fertilizer dispenser/generator that I can throw leaves, grass (actually I mulch these now), kitched scaps (sugar cubes, carrots, etc).

I sell the extra energy back to the power grid, and spread the fertilizer on my yard.

No wait, this would make to much ecological/economic sense, I must be some kind of hippie, tree hugger, freak.

Re:Flux Capacitor

[Xaoswolf]

Did you know that the flux capacitor was at one time listed listed in the Marine Corps Comm. Elec. student handbook in the section for different capacitors? They snuck it in as a joke while writing the book, and it actually made it past the editors and into print. Not sure how long it was there, I think at least three years beore they printed the new books.

Any Marines out there able to give a few better specifics?

Kinda off topic, but hey, it's still funny.

One more piece to the puzzle

[Mycroft_514]

This sounds like a neat power source for nano-technology. Power the nanobots off the sugar in the bloodstream.

And some get entered just to remove sugar from the bloodstreams of diabetics. Where do I sign up for that? (I'm a type II diabetic already, this could stave off more drastic treatment for years.)

Re:One more piece to the puzzle

[LINM]

Once we can make nanobots, I'm sure we'll be able to copy the electicity creating process of the bacteria in a significantly more efficient and more controllable nano-design (without needing much of the unneeded material in a bacterium: a lot of wasted overhead).

In addition to type II diabetes, would also be great for obesity and those who just want to eat more. Super-size me!

Re:Strange..

[mirko]

Al Jazeera is a TV channel which particularity is to mostly be broadcasted in the Gulf countries.

As you may now, before terrorists, these countries
host oil producers.

Because of the great fear of losing control when all of the oil will have been drilled, it sounds obvious that these billionaires are interested in investing in alternative power sources such as this one, so that they are certain they'll keep control of worldwide energy sales...

Terrorism is just an artefact that has been added after "some" occidental countries decided to interefere with the local governments...

83%?

[adeyadey]

83% Efficient? Thats impressive, if true. If you think that a typical car engine is only 20% efficient. Maybe one day you could run your car on Glucose..

Bio-cybernetics?

[SealBeater]

I wonder how safe these bacteria are? Not in any fearful way, but could they
be used to power an artificial heart, getting the sugar from the body? Perhaps
power artificial limbs?

SealBeater

Chemistry question

[rzbx]

It doesn't state how much sugar it needs, nor the cost for electricity based on sugar prices. Any chemist know how 83% efficiency translates into cost and amount of sugar needed for a certain amount of power consumption?

Re:Chemistry question

[Insightfill]

Well, in the US, sugar (crystal, cane, etc.) prices are kept artificially high through protectionism. Maybe these germs can run off of corn syrup?

It got so bad that American companies were importing iced tea mix to extract the sugar and get around the tariff. That soon got caught. Some American companies actually would have a Canadian branch/company convert sugar to molasses, import the exempt molasses, and convert it back to sugar. That got caught, too.

The price difference got bad enough that the LifeSavers are now no longer made in the US, but Canada. I wonder how longer before an enterprising company imports the LifeSavers to extract the sugar.

I guess the question of economics depends, as usual, on where you live.

Effects of heat?

[popo]

Interesting story. Given that the power is generated by bacteria, my first question would have to be: Is an optimal temperature required for bacterial function / electrical generation?

Maintaining a warm environment for the sake of the bacteria would certainly rule out plenty of uses from cars to flashlights, and most importantly: that little light that goes on when you open your freezer.

Re:Are nationalities that important?

[NihilSmurf]

Excellent point. Notice that the Al Jazeera version mentioned the nationalities, but the USA Today version didn't.

I wonder whether Swades Chaudhuri is an American born in India (or of Indian descent), or an Indian citizen? It isn't relevant to the research, but it could reveal Al Jazeera's spin.

Also notice how Al Jazeera said that was a "Pentagon-backed" project at the top of the article, while USA Today said it was DOD funded way down at the bottom.

Re:Nice technology - wrong forum to highlight it o

[PeteyG]

But it's extremely unfortunate and in poor taste that Slashdot choose to highlight it using Al Jazeera as a news source. This news outlet is the largest voice of anti-US sentiment in the Arab world and is a particularly offensive forum to highight while our soldiers are still dying in that area of the world.

Uhm... it's unfortunate yes. But ONLY because Al-Jazeera is such an unreliable source of accurate news.

Re:Are nationalities that important?

[bug-eyed monster]

In most countries outside the Western hemisphere, there are still few immigrants from non-neighboring countries (unless of course they come from the colonizing countries). So the idea of nationality is still very strong and significant. Al Jazeera would have mentioned the nationalities even if the researchers were Chinese and French.

Also, outside North America the Pentagon is the symbol of American military and people use "Pentagon" and "American army" interchangeably, most of them haven't even heard of "DOD." You say potehto I say potahto...

Basically, the contrasts you see are simply due to differences in cultures. Peace.