Chinese students make equipment that produces 80 hours of electricity from just a spoonful of sugar

This system can produce a stable current and does not depend on weather or location.

Producing 80 hours of electricity with just 1 tablespoon

A group of students from China recently successfully created a device called a microbial fuel Cell (Microbial Fuel Cell-MFC) . In this device, there are 3 bacterial strains: E. coli, Shewanella and B. subtilis. What is special is that just for the bacteria to eat a spoonful of sugar, they can produce a stable current for 80 hours.

Microbial fuel cell -MFC made by Chinese students.

In an interview with Reuters, Ling Wei, the head of the young research group and a pharmaceutical engineering student at Tianjin University, said:

'The device that we make is especially new. Although previously, bacterial fuel cells (MFC) have been studied a lot, no one has tried to combine 3 types of bacteria at once. In this way, we were able to create a better current. '

Ling also stressed that, compared to harnessing electrical energy from wind, water and solar energy, their microbial system produces a more stable current and does not depend on weather or location. With these advantages, this method promises a potential for large-scale applications in the future.

Principle of generating electricity from an MFC device.

Meanwhile, Liu Yeu, a biochemical engineer working at Tianjin University, is more cautious of the team's adviser. She said they must achieve a higher performance to realize the potential of this device.

'We hope that we can reduce the size of this MFC device even further. In addition, the output of electricity output must be increased. Only so, the new device has the opportunity to become a new energy source for the future. It can replace the lithium batteries we are using today , 'Liu said.

The research project of young scientists from Tianjin University won the top prize at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition in 2015.