The Use Of Microbial Fuel Cells For Make Energy Essay

The Hydrogen Fuel Cell could revolutionize the world. This ingenious technology, which creates electricity from the chemical reactions of hydrogen and oxygen has, in its 150-year history, passed many of the critical tests along the path from invention to innovation. Recent developments in fuel cell technology and concurrent developments within the energy and automotive industries have brought the world to brink of the fuel cell age and the hydrogen economy.

Hypothesis: The beaker with only water would be clear the carbon would turn black when added and the other one will turn grey.

Microbes are bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. The earth was formed 4.6 million years ago. And a few million years later, by 3.5 billion years ago, earth was already inhabited by a diversity of organisms. The earliest organism is Prokaryotes and within the next billion years, two distinct groups of prokaryotes called bacteria and archaea diverged. Eukaryotes cell evolved from a prokaryotes community, a host cell containing even smaller prokaryotes .The microbial world accounted for all known life forms for nearly 50 to 90% of Earth's history. We are still researching microbial organisms today in marine environment, extreme environments. A microbial observatory is an NSF-funded project dedicated to the discovery and characterization of novel microorganisms and microbial communities of diverse

This cell uses bacteria like Shewanella oneidensis and Rhodoferax ferrireducens and many labs are attempting to find better strains of bacteria more suited to the process (3). This fuel cells work in two parts. Basically, the microbial fuel cell has two halves, aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic means with presence of oxygen, anaerobic means a lack of oxygen. When bacteria consume their “food” in aerobic conditions they produce carbon dioxide and water, however when it’s in an anaerobic condition they produce carbon dioxide, electrons and protons. The MFC has the bacteria put in the anaerobic chamber of the cell and decompose water material that contain glucose and/or acetate. The bacteria also free hydrogen ions and electrons. The electrons flow from an anode into the cathode. The hydrogen ions however just pass through the barrier; soon the electrons and hydrogen ions are in the aerobic chamber and combine with the oxygen forming h2o. The H2O is released and electrical energy is produced from the transfer off the energy between the Anode and Cathode (or Anaerobic and Aerobic chambers).

Prokaryotes are ubiquitous, successfully adapting to diverse environments as well as developing symbiotic relationships with host organisms (Lengeler, Drews, & Schlegel, 1999). Prokaryotes may have both autotrophic and heterotrophic characteristics. A cyanobacteria is photosynthetic, commonly called blue-green algae, and may produce toxins (Crayton, 1993). Bacteria are most commonly associated in the general

When reflecting back to experiment 3, Aseptic Technique and Culturing Microbes, I realized the large amount of microorganisms that can be found in everyday life. Many different types are found with in the human body. Theses experiments focused on two types of bacteria. First was Staphylococcus epidermidis, found on the skin, and second was Lactobacillus acidophilus, found in the gastrointestinal tract. Both have similar needs for growth when it comes to temperature, however, different growth environments are used.

Microorganisms need energy and that is generated through these metabolic activities (Jurtshuk, 1996). Through this experiment, it is shows that all the bacteria experienced different metabolic activities in different mediums.

These organisms need energy from nutrients to do their job (Advanced Biotech, 1995-2015). There are two types of this, bio stimulation and bio augmentation (Advanced Biotech, 1995-2015). In stimulation, nutrients are added to the water, therefore depending on the microbes being in the water (Advanced Biotech, 1995-2015). Not all forms of microbes can break down every type of bacteria. In the process of augmentation, scientifically chosen micro-organisms are added to the water and monitored, therefore being more effective than stimulation because it is positive that the organism(s) being added are the right type and will do the job (Advanced Biotech, 1995-2015). Some benefits to this process are that it is very effective in killing the bacteria and it will work quickly once it is effective. Once the bacteria and micro-organism types are identified, this method is sure to work. Once the organisms are added, it won’t be long before they are done breaking down the bacteria. However, there are some downsides. This method could take lots of time to find the right organisms to kill off the bacteria. Not only will it take long, but it could be costly to purchase the right type of micro-organism to kill of that specific type of

When we speak of the word “bacteria” some individuals may not recognize how large of a role these tiny organisms play in our everyday lives. Some may jump to the conclusion that bacteria are related to the spread of germs or sickness among the human population. Most microbes are harmless or beneficial (Matthews, 2015) and a large majority of these tiny microbes are extremely important in order to maintain the balance of living organisms and chemicals in our environment (Tortora, Funke, & Case, 2013).

This bacterium produces energy via anaerobic respiration using compounds other than oxygen, such as Nitrate, as its final electron acceptor(Vasanthakumari, 2007).

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

Over the past several years, scientists have researched the impact fossil fuels currently have on our world today. These sources of energy have an irreversible and devastating consequence on our environment. Fossil fuels are disliked due to being non-renewable and unsustainable. As more technological advancements have occurred, more efforts have arisen related to replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy. Due to the integration of existing technology the public has become reluctant to adopt new energy technologies. Renewable energy brings many desirable health, environmental, and economic benefits. These renewable methods may ultimately provide a brighter future for generations to come.

Life on this planet began with microorganisms. Through millions of years microorganisms have found ways to successfully adapt and survive. These adaptations have created a wide biodiversity, allowing them to basically populate in all places. Why are these microbes so important? Because they shape the history of our world. Some microbes can be deathly to humans while some others are favorable, for example, bacteria that lives in the gut of both humans and animals and helps during the process of digestion (Alfred Brown & Heidi Smith, 2006). Understanding these interactions help scientists to find ways to protect humans from potential deathly pathogens. In order to observe microbes, microscope proficiency and microorganisms’ identification are crucial skills in a microbiology lab. During this laboratory session, samples of environmental and human organisms were inoculated into two different rich media and incubated to their according temperature. After this, appropriate use and calibration of the microscope was performed. Lastly, morphology and size of different species of bacteria, algae, fungi and protozoan were recorded.

In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy.

Unlike gasoline or diesel, biofuels release little pollution. It can also be used to produce electricity by heating water using biofuels and using the steam produced to rotate a turbine. Another method is to allow the biofuel to decay and produce methane. Methane is commonly used as fuel for car, heating, cooking, and producing electricity.