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Self-Powered Microbial Fuel Cell Produces Hydrogen
donberryman writes "Researchers from Penn State have shown how microbial fuel cells can produce hydrogen without the need for an external source of electricity to power the process. It uses reverse-electrodialysis to capture energy from the difference in salinity between salt water and freshwater (abstract). Study co-author Bruce Logan explained the significance of the work: 'The breakthrough here is that we do not need to use an electrical power source anymore to provide a little energy into the system. All we need to do is add some fresh water and some salt water and some membranes, and the electrical potential that is there can provide that power.'"
So any freshwater river going into ocean could provide a continual source of hydrogen that can, in turn, be burned to produce electricity. Maybe even power it's own factory to compress the hydrogen for later energy storage. Nice.
(Roughly 1 billion people lack access to freshwater)
Can that compete with my engine that produces gasoline, though?
So are we trading a dwindling resource for one that's already rare (fresh water)? Could someone shine some light on this for me? Obviously, I'm ignorant to all this but if this isn't an issue, then this is an awesome breakthrough!
And my thought was that you have the hydrogen generation at the bottom of a hill or mountain, let the hydrogen flow in a pipe uphill, burn or fuel cell it for energy up there, run the exhaust through a radiator so it cools to water, then at night, release the water downhill to get energy at night.
is how much energy does it take to produce the membrane, what is their effective live span, and are you actually 'producing' any energy. Hopefully with the boost from the waste feeding bacteria the answer is yes.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
like all the past bacterial solutions, it's growing them in mass that is the limiting factor. now, if they can alter some of these bacteria to divide continuously to make non-dividing bacteria then it will be a serious solution.
in short, same ol' solution with the same ol' problem.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
So any freshwater river going into ocean could provide a continual source of hydrogen that can, in turn, be burned to produce electricity.
Why not just use turbines to generate electricity directly?
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18567/
Wow. It's the obligatory "New discovery of an inefficient solar energy collection system using [seawater, algae, corn, etc.] whose output is [hydrogen, hydrocarbon lipids, alcohol] which [wrecks metal machinery, doesn't scale and has an EROEI is either barely over 1, or sometimes less]."
Man, it's been over a week since I read one of those. Guess we don't have to worry about that pesky cheap, high-EREOI hydrocarbon depletion thing now.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
The freshwater doesn't magically appear and it isn't free. Solar energy create the weather that lofts all that freshwater into the atmosphere so that it can return as rain and enter a river and make its way back to the interface with that saltwater.... where we can create a system to turn it into hydrogen.... or we could just capture the solar energy more directly and turn it into electricity and use it!
lol. Really, if you're going to need a small amount of current, then a small replaceable NiMH battery that the fuel cell can recharge would make LOTS more sense than something you have to maintain like this? I don't get it...
"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem." -- Jefferson
The MFC community isn't large, however had an online discussion forum going for four years now over at Yahoo, http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/MicrobialFuelCells/ . It has many academics on it, but is not unfriendly to the hobbyist. MFCs are one of few the areas of alternative energy and biotech in which it is relatively easy and inexpensive for beginners to get a functional device. I am not saying that the area of study is trivial, because there's a difference between something functional and something notable for its efficiency. But you can "muck about" in it. If this type of thing interests you, please come join us!
We've found a way to produce the most abundant element in the universe!
I remember reading about this about 5-10 years again New Scientist magazine.
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Especially when "all it takes is some membranes". There is a way to use a similar process, and make fresh water out of sea water- it is called 'reverse osmosis', it is brilliant, slow but otherwise efficient and it pretty much works on its own and yields -at a naive first look- huge amounts of free fresh drinkable water. But the membranes involved are the ones that do all the trick, and they are pretty damn expensive to acquire and maintain.
The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
Here is a link to an abstract on how to harvest the bacteria. Ochrobactrum anthropi YZ-1 If anyone has any other info on harvesting or economically growing the bacteria please post it here.
Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
Let me point out yet another round of pseudo-scientific articles with sensational headlines. This time it is the term "self-powered" which implies to the layman that it is "free energy" or "perpetual motion" when in reality it is "salt-powered" as it requires a constant supply of saltwater and freshwater.
Ship it.