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19/03/07/0517218 story

Capturing Bacteria That Eat and Breathe Electricity

posted by mrpg on Thursday March 07 2019, @08:47AM   
from the electric-dreams dept.

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Capturing bacteria that eat and breathe electricity

[...] Voila! They had succeeded in capturing their prey – heat-loving bacteria that "breathe" electricity through the solid carbon surface of the electrodes.

The WSU team, in collaboration with colleagues from Montana State University, published their research detailing the multiple bacterial communities they found in the Journal of Power Sources.

"This was the first time such bacteria were collected in situ in an extreme environment like an alkaline hot spring," said Mohamed, adding that temperatures in the springs ranged from about 110 to nearly 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

These tiny creatures are not merely of academic interest.

They may hold a key to solving some of the biggest challenges facing humanity – environmental pollution and sustainable energy. Such bacteria can “eat” pollution by converting toxic pollutants into less harmful substances and generating electricity in the process.

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Original Submission

• Why is this interesting?(Score: 4, Interesting) by c0lo on Thursday March 07 2019, @09:18AM

  by c0lo (156) on Thursday March 07 2019, @09:18AM (#811085) Journal

  Why is this interesting?

  Because of the bacteria? Geobacter [wikipedia.org] is known for quite a long time to do these things, including the use in [nih.gov] microbial fuel/electrolysis cells [wikipedia.org] and/or bioremediation [wikipedia.org]. Here's somebody that studied them for 30 years [umass.edu]

  Because they "captured" it? It's not like that bacteria would run fast or be an aggressive beast.

  Ah, I know. Because they still managed to find "four pristine pools of hot water" (TFA quote) in Yellowstone Park, that can be the only rational explanation.

  Or, maybe... is it because the millennials don't know how to read and the older scientific articles weren't yet converted in audio-book format?

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• Now, if we could just find rust eating bacteriaNow, if we could just find rust eating bacteria (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 07 2019, @11:57AM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 07 2019, @11:57AM (#811107)

  that converts the rust back into good metal.

  • Re:Now, if we could just find rust eating bacteria(Score: 4, Interesting) by c0lo on Thursday March 07 2019, @01:12PM

    by c0lo (156) on Thursday March 07 2019, @01:12PM (#811124) Journal

    Now, if we could just find rust eating bacteria that converts the rust back into good metal.

    Meet Geobacter metallireducens [wikipedia.org]

    Geobacter metallireducens is a gram-negative metal-reducing proteobacterium.[1] It is a strict anaerobe that oxidizes several short-chain fatty acids, alcohols, and monoaromatic compounds with Fe(III) as the sole electron acceptor.

    Not quite "back to good metal", only from rust (Fe2O3 when dehydrated) to magnetite (Fe3O4) - 'cause FeO is unstable below 575C - but magnetite doesn't have a hydrated form and is reduced. Means less energy to get the metal out - evaoirate the water and reduce it.,

    So, mix rust+whisky, invite Geobacter metallireducens to the party and you get electricity and magnetite out.

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    Parent

• Eat pollution?Eat pollution? (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 07 2019, @01:02PM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 07 2019, @01:02PM (#811121)

  Like plants?

  • Re:Eat pollution?(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday March 07 2019, @07:18PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Thursday March 07 2019, @07:18PM (#811293)

    Like every living organism on the planet these days.
    It's not the eating that's hard.

    Parent

• Doesn't seem to make sense (to me)(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday March 07 2019, @05:09PM

  by DannyB (5839) on Thursday March 07 2019, @05:09PM (#811210) Journal

  From TFA

  “As these bacteria pass their electrons into metals or other solid surfaces, they can produce a stream of electricity that can be used for low-power applications,” said Beyenal.

  Most living organisms – including humans – use electrons, which are tiny negatively-charged particles, in a complex chain of chemical reactions to power their bodies. Every organism needs a source of electrons and a place to dump the electrons to live. While we humans get our electrons from sugars in the food we eat and pass them into the oxygen we breathe through our lungs, several types of bacteria dump their electrons to outside metals or minerals, using protruding hair-like wires.

  I don't think an organism can MAKE electrons from chemical reactions. And AFAIK, organisms don't "eat" or "consume" electrons like a fuel.

  Electric currents flow from a source of electrons to atoms that want more electrons in their outer shells. Batteries are chemical ways to induce electrons to flow (taking the long path through the load) from one electrode to another, and changing the chemistry of the battery in the process. (Possibly in a reversible / rechargeable way) And moving magnetic fields also induce electron flow.

  So maybe the bacteria somehow, like a battery, or a pump, cause a movement of electrons as a current? To which you could somehow attach two electrodes to something and get useful energy?

  So the article doesn't really make it very clear what is happening. Or maybe I don't understand it correctly.

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