Bio Energy source you never imagined! Microbial Fuel cells

Bio Energy source you never imagined!

You’ve washed the dishes, took a shower, Have you any idea how much energy it takes to treat these waters? It turns out that 2-5% of global energy goes on water treatment. Could there be a way to let the wastewaters produce the energy for its own treatment? What kind of energy can be found in the sewers? Is there a way to produce available power out of it? Watch this clip from PENN University that describes the technology:

Renewable Energy from Microbes

Words reflect emotional attitude – waste, junk and refuse are the things we throw away, what we do not need. The transformation is to look at waste as an infinite source of viable energy. As rain forests are “air purifiers” – microbes will become “water purifier”. They turn waste into renewable bio energy (Watch the Unification principle).

Look at the model in the clip – The bacteria eat the waste, grow and produce electrons. The electrons are channeled through the facility and generate electric current. The voltages are low, but we can generate enough power to run the facility. Waste water will produce the energy to purify itself (The Unification Principle). We just have to build the facility, control and channel the energy creation process.

It’s Working

In small scale – Microbial Fuel Cells are already working! Simple and attractive. For large and commercial scale there are still some engineering issues to be resolved. There are applications using sea water to increase productivity. Watch a more detailed video for insights about such a process.

Where does it lead to?

The idea of energy generation at commercial scale from bacteria is exciting, but one should keep in mind that such energy will not reach high voltages. It’s going to be difficult to control and add capacity to compensate high consumption peaks as done in gas, oil and coal power stations.

But as a water treatment energy source – cleaning oceans and seas it’ll probably become a standard. Keep in mind it will generate 2-5% of global energy consumption. Water polluting industries (Chemical, Food, paper etc.) will probably build such facilities. The technology would probably serve as local energy source for small 3^rd world villages as well.

Once the technology is stable and commercial – such bio renewable energy sources will attract a lot of research & development budgets. During time the bacteria will undergo genetic engineering upgrades, and become more efficient. It’s going to be a big industry of converting waste into energy. There is evidence that there are organisms that convert polymer waste (Plastics, Nylons, Oil products) to energy too.

Can you imagine a world where bacteria complement us as a human species as the trees and plants do for oxygen?

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