Liberty (MO) - Scientists are discovering that microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology is a viable alternative to power generation in remote locations.  Powered only by whatever fuel is placed into the vessel, and the natural electrical generation processes by the bacteria, usable power for man can be harnessed, captured in batteries and utilized as necessary.


A representative from the Biodesign Institute's Center for Environmental Biotechnology named Marcus said, "We can use any kind of waste, such as sewage or pig manure, and the microbial fuel cell will generate electrical energy."  Whereas conventional fuel cells rely on hydrogen gas as a fuel source, MFCs utilize a form of water-based organic fuels.  These can be most anything that the bacteria can consume, including human waste.


 
 
TGDaily.com previously covered an article about this kind of technology being developed by students at MIT.  They were developing a 5-gallon bucket of "goo" that would provide enough power to recharge a cell phone in a matter of weeks.  While this seems like a potentially useless amount of electricity, a huge 500 gallon tank could be created that would allow much more power constantly, 24/7.  In addition, multiple 5-gallon buckets could be put in series to allow an increase of the output.


Author's opinion
While this kind of technology may not be able to produce enough electricity to power an entire home without a disproportionately large amount of "goo", meaning many square feet of someone's yard being employed toward power generation and storage, the fact that once it's created it can continue to generate electricity 24/7.  With a sufficient battery storage mechanism, the power generated throughout the night stored in batteries could provide a high percentage of a home's need.  This would drastically reduce electricity bills while simultaneously providing consumers with a way to dispose of part of their waste in an economically viable manner, one which actually generates money for them.

wouldn't it be useful if...

Jan 03, 2008 15:40     

Septic tanks used by many homes could be converted to generators? Sounds like its feasible with this and septic tanks sure have a lot of waste in them.
mattcrwi report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Septic tanks as electrical generators....hmm!

Jan 03, 2008 16:05     

Sounds like the next step is to convert a septic tank into one of these types of fuel cells. Every time you flush the toilet, you add more fuel to the system. With 100's of thousands of septic tanks throughout the US generating power, we wouldn't need to build more CO2 generating power plants. Sounds pretty 'Green' to me! Even urban waste treatment plants should be converted.... Just think of the consequences of that!

VMWizard report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Goo

Jan 03, 2008 16:06     

Anyone with a septic tank already has a disproportionately large amount of "goo" at their disposal...
Sean report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Resident Evil 4

Jan 03, 2008 16:53     

Couldn't it be used somewhere else and becomes Resident Evil 4???
Andy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Urban waste treatment plants already use methane..

Jan 03, 2008 17:28     

The urban waste treatment plant in my home town (Albuquerque, New Mexico, the plant is for all of Albuquerque) already pulls methane out of the waste. It is then put into a diesel generator (which has spark plugs and can run on natural gas or methane) and it generates electricity. There are two generating units, each about 2MW of capacity (I think). I don't believe there is enough methane to run the generators all the time on methane from the waste. By comparison, the state of New Mexico uses on average about 4.4GW of electricity. At best, we could supply 1-2% of the demand. That is being optimistic... I wonder how the price per watt of these fuel cells compares to the generators...

Paul Wowk report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hello Mr. Fusion (Back to the future)

Jan 03, 2008 17:45     

Well not quite there but a similar function :)
CJ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

great!

Jan 03, 2008 18:39     

i think its awesome, it would be cheap too! growing microbes is not expensive, providing their sturdy enough. they could sell tons for cheap if they mass growed them :) i would certainly fill my basement with goo if it could power my house! :D lol only thing expensive would be storing the energy they slowly produce aka good and many batteries.
12345 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Good place...

Jan 04, 2008 00:00     

It would be a good place to dispose of a body. Just dump them in your goo tank and mix up a few extra microbes and you have a forensic nightmare. Haha! Perhaps we could use it to dispose of old people instead of feeding the worms. Imagine burnin rubber with that...
NutZ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

sewage plant to power plant

Jan 04, 2008 08:40     

It would make sewage plants more enviromentally friendly by also being a power plant.
TomLeeM/BigWarpGuy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

goo methane

Jan 04, 2008 14:35     

Landfill wastelands could be more than just wastedlands. The goo could power one of these mechanisms, and the methane gas could be burnt into power as well. That's two in one that could give a bit more than the 2% Paul commented above.
nke report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

read before thinking, think before commenting

Jan 04, 2008 19:34     

This is not (nescecarily) a "green" energy source. many bacteria produce extravagant amounts of CO2, not to mention other highly toxic gasses. The power to gas production ratio would have to be better than a coal furnace at least. I don't see the volume as a problem. Creating million or billion gallon tanks to power cities shouldn't be a big problem, however: you think current day locusts, cockroaches and pest are a problem? just wait until these all-devouring babies get loose. this may just be the end of mankind (always end on a dramatic note)

ikkeman report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Thrid World applications

Jan 10, 2008 11:30     

So lets say you live in rual Africa or S. America. It is likely you do no thave proper waste disposal. It is also likely you do not have power. This set up could provide lighting for reading after dark so the kids could actually get ahead in school. This tech should be improved and made available to the third world for free (Does Bill Gates read TG daily?).
Chris report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0