Using bacteria to extract energy from water
Scientists at UMass/Amherst are researching the possibilities in using geobacter strains to extract electrons from water using only sunlight as a power source. With a simple process and the right bacteria it is possible to produce acetate or acetyl-Co A which is a basic building block of all oil based fuels and plastics.
In practical terms, the closed ME system Lovley envisions could be located anywhere sunlight is available, and harvested with an array of solar panels. As he explains, “It’s a two-electrode system. One electrode extracts electrons from water and produces oxygen as a byproduct. The electrons travel to the second electrode where the bacteria are, and they take in carbon dioxide and spit out acetate. With further engineering the bacteria are expected to also be able to produce fuels or other valuable commercial chemicals, for example, butanediol, used to make plastics. ”
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