“Geobacter is not light responsive in its own right because it’s not a photosynthetic organism,” says Badalamenti, lead author of the two new papers. In contrast, photosynthetic Chlorobium is unable to carry out the anode form of respiration necessary for electricity production. “But when you put these two organisms together, you get both a light response and the ability to generate current.” The electrons Geobacter acquires from its photosynthetic partner Chlorobium can be measured and collected in the form of electricity, using a device known as a microbial fuel cell (MFC)—a kind of biological battery. A basic schematic for a conventional MFC is shown in figure 1. Microbial fuel cells may one day generate clean electricity from various streams of organic waste, simply by exploiting the electron-transfer abilities of various microorganisms. The research was carried out at the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, which is under the direction of Regents’ Prof. Bruce Rittmann. The goal of the Center is to exploit microorganisms for the benefit of society. These efforts typically involve the use of bacteria to clean up environmental pollutants or to provide clean energy. In the case of MFC research, bacteria can assist in both of these activities, generating useable electricity from energy-rich waste.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 23:04:32 +0000