Bacteria battery’ boosted by space microbes found in river Wear
Bugs from space – or Bacillus stratosphericus to be precise, a microbe commonly found in high concentrations in the stratosphere orbiting the earth – have been identified as highly efficient generators of electricity according to this article. A team from Newcastle university isolated 75 different species of bacteria from the Wear Estuary, Country Durham, and tested the power-generation of each one using a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). By selecting the best species of bacteria, a kind of microbial “pick and mix”, the researchers were able to create an artificial biofilm, doubling the electrical output of the MFC from 105 Watts per cubic metre to 200 Watts per cubic metre. Although low, this would be enough power to run an electric light. Grant Burgess, Professor of Marine Biotechnology at the university described how ““this is the first time individual microbes have been studied and selected in this way. Finding B.Stratosphericus was quite a surprise but what it demonstrates is the potential of this technique for the future – there are billions of microbes out there with the potential to generate power.” Professor Burgess’s research interests also include snotworms, whose ability to decompose the bones of dead whales on the seabed is also attracting scientific interest! Further information about the bugs research can be found here