Double Bonus: Bacteria Eat Pollution, Generate Electricity

www.livescience.com...

Scientists have long studied bacteria that can clean up toxic waste by eating it. Other bacteria have been employed to produce electricity.

Now scientists have found a two-for-one deal in bacteria that will eat toxic chemicals 24/7 and make electricity to boot.

"The bacteria are capable of continuously generating electricity at levels that could be used to operate small electronic devices," says Charles Milliken of the Medical University of South Carolina, who conducted the research with colleague Harold May. "As long as the bacteria are fed fuel they are able to produce electricity 24 hours a day."

The findings were to be presented today at the 105th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

The new study involved Desulfitobacteria, already known for their ability to breakdown and detoxify some of the most problematic environmental pollutants, including PCBs and some chemical solvents.

this IS niiice

it is like a "two for one deal"...

or a "two for nothing deal"...

we get pollution eaten and electricity...

Now thats a cool idea. Think, we could use these things in the places of AA or AAA batteries in pollution dense areas, like LA.

This could really revolutionize pollution regulations if we could just have it cleaned up fast. Also no more global warming.

[edit on 7-6-2005 by TheJeSta]

Originally posted by TheJeSta
Now thats a cool idea. Think, we could use these things in the places of AA or AAA batteries in pollution dense areas, like LA.

This could really revolutionize pollution regulations if we could just have it cleaned up fast. Also no more global warming.

[edit on 7-6-2005 by TheJeSta]

great idea

you should be president

such a discovery only means a clean, safe , earth-friendly future

its worth more discussion than is being done

i saw a program on PBS the Scientific American w/ Hawkeye from Mash

they did a report on the bacteria that eats pollution and generates electricity
it was a very interesting report

hawkeye and one of the engineers actually drank a glass of water with the bacteria in it to prove how safe it was

this is being overlooked by everyone right now but i assure you
its "BIG"

Originally posted by muzzleflash
such a discovery only means a clean, safe , earth-friendly future

its worth more discussion than is being done

i saw a program on PBS the Scientific American w/ Hawkeye from Mash

they did a report on the bacteria that eats pollution and generates electricity
it was a very interesting report

hawkeye and one of the engineers actually drank a glass of water with the bacteria in it to prove how safe it was

this is being overlooked by everyone right now but i assure you
its "BIG"

w0w...

drinking bacteria!?!?!?

they must really have faith in it

w/ Hawkeye from Mash

His IRL name would be Alan Alda

Wasn't this old news? Like a year or two back? They had bacteria that would eat away at pollution and generate electricity? Sulfur, too.

Bacteria doing (something) and generating energy used to be all the rage. Not much came out of it though, iirc. Pity. Maybe we'll jump start the process again.

Well the article was posted this week, if you could come up with an older article I might believe it. Anyways, would there be a way to use this bacteria in a landfill on a large scale to have like a landfill, power plant combo? Or would these bacteria never be able to produce enough electricity to power more than just cd players, watches and Portable Game consoles?

You call them things like they aren't living organisms

Cool discovery. Maybe you could put them in cars?