Microbial Fuel Cells Generate Rice Paddy Power

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/microbial-fuel.html

Microbial Fuel Cells Generate Rice Paddy Power

By Alexis Madrigal EmailApril 08, 2008 | 10:54:00 AM

Rice_paddie Dutch researchers have developed a microbial fuel cell that allows them generate up to 330 watts of power per hectare of farmed rice paddies.

The researchers, whose work appears in Environmental Science and Technology, used bacteria present in the soil to create a micro power plant. When bacteria eat organic matter, they generate excess electrons, which can be harvested. Peter Girgius, a Harvard microbiology professor described the electric potential of the soil a few months ago.

"There are terawatts moving through our biosphere. Solar energy ends up in our soil and sediment," he said. "Think of it as underground solar energy."

The technology has emerged over the last year, with several startups like Girgius' Living Power Systems trying to tap the off-grid market. But it's a tough sell in countries that have access to cheap and broadly available power from the grid. Still, the omnipresent J. Craig Venter Institute and other scientists are working to genetically engineer a better bacterial generator.

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[diane in sf]

1. Sounds like a good technology for those poor rural areas in Asia