Microbes for Off-the-Grid Electricity

Comments

• 	How is this better? Thoms on 09/05/2008 at 7:47 AM
  Posts: 1 Avg Rating:	How is this better than hand cranked generator devices? My hand cranked flashlight was less then $10, lasts for hours and powers 1 to 3 LEDs. Similar devices are available for cellphones, TVs, radios, etc. This is proven, cheap, scalable technology. So how is the microbe technology better then hand cranked generators? Rate this comment: (Reply)

  • Re: How is this better? DJTal on 09/05/2008 at 8:30 AM

    Posts: 116 Avg Rating:

    Well , i guess it's better because the microbes are doing the work , which saves human power . But , compared with having to walk 5 miles to a  generator , hand cranking would use less energy . Trust a bunch of highly intelligent Harvard students to come up with the most difficult way to generate power ........ poor Africans!! But , its a good thing now that we've been educated about microbial fuel cells . Rate this comment: (Reply)

    • 	Re: How is this better? mkogrady on 09/08/2008 at 8:29 PM
      Posts: 127 Avg Rating:	On a broader scale, these MFC's can use the waste water from a sewage system, or sediment from brackish ponds and lakes. In essence recycling waste for energy. The bacteria used in water treatment plants is an active culture that can be easily and readily sourced. The muck...well...it's easily sourced too I imagine. Rate this comment: (Reply)

• How is it better?! myrightfoot on 09/05/2008 at 11:35 AM

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  It's better in a lot of way. First, these generators can be built out of common items. The only non local resources that you might need are the carbon filaments and power control.  If these items can be sourced at a low enough cost then thousands, if not millions of households could have their own bio generators. They can charge lots of items, have few mechanical parts that break down overtime, and everyone has waste that they can fuel the generators with. I think its brilliant in its simplicity and could be a great tool for million worldwide. Rate this comment: (Reply)

• How Scalable is this? mkogrady on 09/08/2008 at 11:34 AM

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  If a bucket of muck and sand, one square meter of Graphite some chicken wire and sodium solution as a carrier is all it takes to power up a cell phone, how big of a system is needed to power up a house? Can a fuel cell the size of a VW bus be created to run a home, assuming you can route it through an inverter? Or - can the DC power be used to split water into hydrogen and power a gas generator directly? Once the muck is spent, is it tossed out and all the inner workings rinsed out with fresh water and a new system built with fresh muck? Does it pose any envirmental challenge? What muck works best or what would you look for as a base? Rate this comment: (Reply)

  • 	Re: How Scalable is this? kgrifant on 09/08/2008 at 2:33 PM		TR Staff Editorial Assistant
    Posts: 3 Avg Rating:	Because this fuel cell yields about 1 watt per meter squared of anode, it would take quite a bit of surface area to power a house. Instead, the team hopes to provide small amounts of power to farmers. Waste from the fuel cell can be used as fertilizer--there are no hazardous byproducts. Soil, manure from domestic animals, and other organic-rich waste works best. Rate this comment: (Reply)