The Last Frost

Bacteria as an energy source may soon become a reality. In one instance, a group of scientists have figured out how to use the waste from a chocolate factory to generate electricity [New Scientist]. They identified a bacteria called Escherichia coli (yes that's E. Coli, but hopefully not the nasty variety you find in raw beef) pictured here, that consumes sugar and releases hydrogen as waste which can then be used as an energy source.

In the spirit of our earlier post on cow manure, another group of scientists are trying to develop a fuel cell that get's an extra boost of power from your toilet [ABC News]. Although they have not identified which bacteria will be the best for the job, it's an interesting idea that they believe holds merit. This strain of bacteria will also most likely feed on the sugars available in the waste that we excrete.

The amount of energy contained in sugar is quite an amazing thing as well. According that same ABC News article, the amount of energy contained in a single sugar cube can power a laptop for 12 hours. These guys even launch rockets with sugar powered engines. No wonder kids bounce off the walls when you feed them sugar, it's amazing they don't blast themselves into space!

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 2nd, 2006 at 2:58 am and is filed under Energy, Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.