Electricity generation mechanism from Lund University uses a redox polymer disguised as a natural bacterial charge carrier to extract the electricity generated by bacteria.
Benefits
- Efficient
- High performance
Applications
- Remote energy generation
- Residential and industrial energy generation
- Medical treatment
UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed
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Goal 7: Affordable & Clean Energy
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Goal 13: Climate Action
The Challenge
Perhaps our greatest challenge as a society will be finding a way to meet our current and future energy needs sustainably. Interest in renewable energy generation has led to discoveries of unexpectedly brilliant options. One example can be observed in energy generation through bacteria. For some years, researchers have been studying ways to effectively capture the electrical current that bacteria generate through their metabolism to produce bioelectricity or accomplish bioremediation—a water or soil decontamination method that relies on living organisms. However, in past studies, the transfer of the electrical current to a receiving electrode (a conductor through which energy enters or leaves an object) has been inefficient, as the bacterium has a thick cell wall that is difficult to permeate.
Innovation Details
In a new study at Lund University, researchers created an artificial molecule called a redox that was able to permeate the bacterium’s cell wall. This redox polymer effectively extracts energy from the bacterium by retrieving electrons within the cell wall, a process known as extracellular electron transfer. The results from the study may assist in future bacterial electrical energy generation developments.
Biomimicry Story
Bacteria use extracellular electron transfer to break down large chemical compounds and to communicate—both with other molecules and with one another.
