Isolated bacteria – Micrococcus luteus (Photo credit: NEPMET)
Organisms may one day turn an electrical current into a rich source of organic compounds for biofuels.
The reason we’re hooked on oil, and its climate warming derivatives, is the astonishing amount of energy packed into every gallon of the stuff. Gasoline burns brighter compared to alternatives from ethanol to electricity whenever it’s stored in a tank or battery. But if we could make energy-dense liquids from electrons, the energetic sub-atomic particles driving an electrical current, we could begin weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, particularly in transportation.
Mariprofundus ferrooxydans PV-1, a little bacteria from the ocean, may be the microbe for the job. It feasts on the iron atoms dissolved in seawater, which makes it attractive to scientists who want to turn it into an electric factory for making biofuels. Here’s how it works: Most life on Earth depends on the sun to drive photosynthesis.
Plants use solar radiation to use and capture chemical energy, combining water and carbon dioxide to create sugars, carbohydrates, proteins, and other compounds. These are in turn eaten by other organisms higher up the food chain. A few rare classes of organisms actually feed directly on the energy in chemical bonds of the Earth’s minerals. By rearranging molecules, the microbes grab energy from the transfer of electrons among atoms. One group, known as lithoautotrophs, or “eaters of rock,” reduce mineral compounds to fuel their metabolism while driving massive geological processes such as rock weathering in the process.
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- Clearest Picture Yet of Electronic Particles in a Mysterious Magnetic Stateon August 25, 2021 at 1:13 pm
Scientists have taken the clearest picture yet of electronic particles that make up a mysterious magnetic state called quantum spin liquid (QSL). The achievement could facilitate the development of ...
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Researchers have made the first direct observation of how hydrogen atoms in water molecules tug and push neighboring water molecules when they are excited with laser light.
- Origin of Water’s Strange Properties: Scientists Capture a “Quantum Tug” Between Neighboring Water Moleculeson August 25, 2021 at 8:00 am
The work sheds light on the web of hydrogen bonds that gives water its strange properties, which play a vital role in many chemical and biological processes. Water is the most abundant yet least ...
- In a first, scientists capture a 'quantum tug' between neighboring water moleculeson August 25, 2021 at 8:00 am
Water is the most abundant yet least understood liquid in nature. It exhibits many strange behaviors that scientists still struggle to explain. While most liquids get denser as they get colder, water ...
- This exotic particle had an out-of-body experience; these scientists took a picture of iton August 19, 2021 at 9:19 am
Scientists have taken the clearest picture yet of electronic particles that make up a mysterious magnetic state called quantum spin liquid (QSL).
- How Albert Einstein's Quantum Theory of Light Transformed Physicson August 11, 2021 at 12:49 pm
Whether the light is a wave or a particle, understanding the true nature of light from a quantum perspective is crucial.
- Sandia researchers develop new grid-scale energy storage batteryon August 6, 2021 at 8:55 am
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy ... the electrons and sulfuric acid to form lead sulfate and water. For the new molten sodium battery, the lead plate is replaced by liquid sodium ...
- Ethanol to Electronson July 24, 2021 at 1:10 pm
“First of all, [ethanol’s] cheaper than diesel, even though its energy density is a little lower ... O’Donnell told the assembly that GE alone has 32,000 MW of installed liquid fuel capacity on GE gas ...
- Designing Better Batteries for Grid-Scale Energy Storageon July 22, 2021 at 10:17 am
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have designed a new class of molten sodium batteries for grid-scale energy ... electrons and sulfuric acid to form lead sulfate and water. For the new ...
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Bacteria Eat Electricity And Make Fuel
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Can bacteria solve the plastic waste crisis? Tae Seok Moon, an environmental engineer at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St Louis, plans to address the plastic waste ...
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Earlier this week, water sampling results indicated Gillies Lake had high levels of bacteria in the water ... some Manitoba communities are trying to entice people to make the switch from city lights ...
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Superbugs make it harder for humans to respond to treatment ... superbugs can reach humans in multiple ways.This includes swimming in or eating fish from contaminated waterways.
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Blacklegged ticks infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease have been found ... To prevent tick bites, Public Health recommends: - Avoid walking in tall grass. - Make sure yards are kept ...
- Scientifically Speaking | There’s more to losing weight than counting calorieson July 27, 2021 at 10:21 pm
In fact, there may be as many or more bacteria in your body as there are “human” cells. When you eat ... of electric vehicles compared to vehicles running on fossil fuels.
- This Little Robot Eats Water Pollution and Makes its Own Electricityon November 16, 2015 at 10:10 am
Last month, scientists from Bristol University unveiled their design for the pollution eating robot ... and the microbial fuel cell (MFC) to power the paddle. As the bacteria metabolize organic ...
