Microbe-powered ‘fart’ machine stores energy


	Microbe-powered ‘fart’ machine stores energy

disenchantedcitizen

5-7-2009 8:14 AM

238 views

tags:

energy, science, methane

disenchantedcitizen says:

A device that can both improve fuel cell technology and entertain 12-year-old boys. That's what I call the modern biathlon.

All in all a very ingenious and creative way to use micro organisms for our benefit.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/74c79ec4-f0cf-46ad-8eef-c4465f3eaaa0/BF161B38-D2AA-4B04-9DB7-E4958F74F515/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372491/" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372491/" style="font-size: 11px;">www.msnbc.msn.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372491/"><P class="textBodyBlack"><SPAN id="byLine"></SPAN>It sounds like a gag gift instead of serious science, but a new electrical farting machine could improve fuel cell technology by turning <A href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/04/10/carbon-dioxide-plastic.html" linkindex="94">C02</A> in the atmosphere into <A href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/09/16/powdered-methane.html" linkindex="95">methane</A>. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372491/"><P class="textBodyBlack"><SPAN id="byLine"></SPAN>The technique won't combat <A href="http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/globalwarming/globalwarming.html" linkindex="96">global warming</A> directly, since both CO2 and methane are potent greenhouse gases, but it could help store alternative energies such as wind and solar more efficiently.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372491/"><P class="textBodyBlack"><SPAN id="byLine"></SPAN>It works like this: giving small jolts of electricity to single-celled microorganisms known as archea prompts them to remove C02 from the air and turn it into methane, released as tiny "farts." The methane, in turn, can be used to power fuel cells or to store the electrical energy chemically until its needed.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372491/"><P class="textBodyBlack"><SPAN id="byLine"></SPAN>Archea are older, and more primitive, than <A href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/09/26/bacteria-plastic.html" linkindex="100">bacteria</A>, lacking a nucleus and other cellular machinery. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372491/">methane-producing archea</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30372491/">team up with termites to digest wood pulp. With other microorganisms, they help decompose organic matter. </blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/BF161B38-D2AA-4B04-9DB7-E4958F74F515/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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