Bacterial batteries charge themselves - plentiful hydrogen supplies

US scientists have found a technology to help bacteria made of bacteria capable of providing energy and can produce an infinite source of hydrogen.

A sample of microbial fuel cells is gender
introduced at London Science Museum (UK).

'Many bacteria in the natural environment are able to release electrons outside the cell, so they can generate electricity when they break down organic matter , ' said Professor Bruce Logan of the University of Pennsylvania. pseudo-research - explain the working principle of bacterial batteries, a new bio-battery. His crew used those bacteria, especially in microbial fuel cells (MFC) , to generate electricity. The breakthrough here is that scientists do not need to use any other external power source to supply the system.

'All we need to do is add some seawater, fresh water, some bacterial membranes, and create electricity,' said Professor Logan. Bacterial electrolyte battery (MEC) uses reverse osmosis (RED) technology , which means generating energy from the difference in salt concentration between seawater and fresh water. In his research report, Professor Logan and colleagues Younggy Kim explained how a RED system uses membranes to collect energy, as well as how molecules move from seawater through Fresh water can generate electricity. 'This is an important factor in our latest research , ' said Professor Logan. According to him, if you choose to desalinate seawater, it will need a lot of energy. However, if fresh water and seawater are exposed, they can interact and generate energy.

Professor said that the technology is still in the research phase, so it cannot be widely exploited. While it may be used in the future, it is currently too expensive. Therefore, the immediate problem is how to lower the price. He said that next, scientists will conduct production of larger sized batteries and, at that time, it will be easier to calculate costs and investment levels.

The team thinks hydrogen has the potential to be an effective carrier. The reason why this element has not been widely exploited is due to the high cost of production and high consumption of fossil fuels during production, leading to environmental damage.

However, scientists believe their research has opened up a new opportunity for the future. Energy-efficient microbial fuel cell technology can be used to produce abundant hydrogen gas without resorting to any external currents. In addition, it also has potential in wastewater treatment.