River Wear bacteria could be a new source of power (From The Northern Echo)

River Wear bacteria could be a new source of power

8:00am Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News By Gavin Engelbrecht

BUGS from the fringes of space which have been found in the sludge of a North-East river could provide a new source of power for the world, it has been revealed.

The bacteria normally found 30km above the earth have been identified as highly-efficient generators of electricity.

Scientists were amazed to find quantities of Bacillus stratosphericus – a microbe commonly found in high concentrations in the stratosphere orbiting the earth with the satellites – in sediments at the mouth of the River Wear, in Sunderland.

The mysterious bacteria, brought down to earth as a result of atmospheric cycling processes and isolated is now a key component of a new “super” biofilm engineered by a team of scientists from Newcastle University.

Publishing their findings today in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, Grant Burgess, Professor of Marine Biotechnology at Newcastle University, said the research demonstrated the “potential power of the technique”.

He said: “What we have done is deliberately manipulate the microbial mix to engineer a biofilm that is more efficient at generating electricity.

“This is the first time individual microbes have been studied and selected in this way.

“Finding B.stratosphericus was quite a surprise, but what it demonstrates is the potential of this technique for the future – there are billions of microbes out there with the potential to generate power.”

Prof Burgess said that, isolating 75 different species of bacteria from the River Wear, the team tested the power-generation of each one using a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC).

By selecting the best species of bacteria, a kind of microbial “pick-and-mix” they were able to create an artificial biofilm, doubling the electrical output of the MFC from 105 watts per cubic metre to 200 watts per cubic metre.

While still relatively low, this would be enough power to run an electric light and could provide a much-needed power source in parts of the world without electricity.

The use of microbes to generate electricity is not a new concept and has been used in the treatment of waste water and sewage plants.

Prof Burgess said: “This is a very interesting method of collecting energy from what would otherwise be a valueless resource.”