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Science Hardware Technology

DIY Living Computer Battery 127

Posted by Hemos from the potato-powered dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Talk about a living battery/pollution clean up/environmentally friendly battery, this seems to fit all the buzz words. Researchers at UMass reported in the journal Science about their sediment battery. 'Derek R. Lovley, UMass microbiologist and team leader, explained how the team used water and sediment from Boston Harbor, a collection of mason jars, ordinary electrical wiring and sterile graphite electrodes to determine the science behind the mechanics of a simple, sediment battery. Using Desulfuromonas acetoxidans (a Geobacter bacteria) the researchers were able to produce enough electrical current to power a lightbulb or a simple computer.'" The linked article is low on details - post 'em in the comments if you have more information on related projects.
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DIY Living Computer Battery

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  • The possibilities (Score:5, Funny)

    by Torgo's Pizza ( 547926 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:11PM (#5215698) Homepage Journal
    So now I can water cool my overclocked processor *and* power it from the creek near my house? Time to buy some garden hose extensions and some more power cables!
    • Don't forget to power your web server with potatoes! [d116.com]

    • Re:The possibilities (Score:5, Informative)

      by Simon Field ( 563434 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @02:22PM (#5216414) Homepage


      The creek near your house might be better put to use as a hydroelectric generator [ntu.ac.uk].

      Biological fuel cells [automation.hut.fi] have been around for a long time. The ones we built in high school used yeast.

      Here [umass.edu] is more information on Desulfuromonas acetoxidans. You can buy pure cultures here [www.dsmz.de].

      An article with more information (didn't Hemos ask?) is here [umass.edu].

    • Hrm... biological batteries. Let's see...

      1) Generates power.

      2) Requires nutrients (say, like sewage)

      3) Generates O2, like algae

      Sounds like it would be really useful in an interstellar ship, doesn't it?

      • Oops, I mean 'generates O2, if we can use something like algae'.

        Either way, didn't they say (below, someone linked to the UMass site) it could be used as a petrolium substitute? That would also be handy.

      • I think this thread shows a great deal of insight. We are messing around right now with the structures which will allow us to use biology in much the same way we have designed mechanical structures in the past: Genomic Development - Hacking the DNA codes themselves.

        It wasn't all that long ago in the scheme of things that we harnessed some of the energy flows we found in nature. Now, I think we are on the virge of something far greater.

        When God ( insert your own belief here on how everything came to be ) created the Universe and any/all life in it, He provided a heckuva lot of DNA coding examples for us. The Firefly. The Electric Eel. Viruses ( Yes, they are a splendid example of how to alter existing code in a cell ), even cancer itself can be seen as something to be harnessed, as the time may come we *want* something to take something else over. There is an almost infinite variety of code segments out there that do all sorts of useful things. If we can figure out how to take the code snippets that do useful things and arrange them in such a manner to provide useful functions, we will arrive in the next generation of our "evolution". I believe God meant us to do this. I find no other reason He coded his work with so many examples of how to do things. Like a textbook! If God had wanted sheep, He would have stopped there.

        I hope the best for the Space Program. It is my firm belief God expects us to leave Earth one day, because He made Pulsars. Can you imagine interstellar navigation in four dimensions ( remember time shifts come into play when we start talking substantial velocities ), without stellar "lighthouses" which generate extremely consistent and unique timing pulses which can be seen from anywhere in the Universe? I think that was such insight to provide such a thing.

        Food for thought for me. Thanks. God, for all the toys! May we use them for the benefit of all.

        • I believe God meant us to do this. I find no other reason He coded his work with so many examples of how to do things. Like a textbook! If God had wanted sheep, He would have stopped there.

          Oh for god's sake man - WAKE UP!

          You people sound ridiculous trying to rationalize and rectify your cult by 'co-opting' reasonable scientific attitudes and this "god intended it" shit -- christ man, the bible is an effort to control the population (enslave them with bumb-in-the-night fearmongering at worst and baffle them with high ideals at best) and YOU CANT CAST it away even in the face of your desire to accept the world around you.

          Please, do yourself a favour, answer yourself this: had you been born in some other place (india for instance) your parents would have bread-into-you the belief that Cows were gods on earth -- you would look at christians with disdain and disbleief.

          Really, grow up man. If more of you dont start thinking for yourselves, taking responsibility for your actions instead of abdacating to a god we're all doomed.

          • I certainly did not mean to flame.

            Honestly ( and my religion runs me out of town for saying it ), I do not know what God is.

            The only way I see I can study God is to study science, because it is the only God which is evident to me. I can only study my creator by studying creation. I have no idea what it is. A person? A spirit? I flat do not have the foggiest idea yet. But it does not mean I will try to find out.

            I have no intention of accepting anything cuz someone says so. I need proof. I feel I can preach when I have some concrete evidence to support my position.

            If I gave the intent of preaching, my sincere apology. anubi.

          • You people sound ridiculous trying to rationalize and rectify your cult by 'co-opting' reasonable scientific attitudes and this "god intended it" shit....

            "There's a difference between an atheist and a god-hater. As a former atheist, you insult me...." I think is how it went.

            If more of you dont start thinking for yourselves, taking responsibility for your actions instead of abdacating....

            "Abdacating" eh? Thinking for yourself has gotten you far....
            • an atheist and a god-hater

              I am a god hater - because the concept of god is an excuse for complacency, ignorance and apathy. The idea fuels endless jihad-like wars from catholic/protestant battles in Ireland, spanish crusades, the puritan witch burnings, muslims stoning women in the street - all facilitated/fostered by religion. I am an advocate of personal responsibility, of deciding how youd like the world's future to be and making it so. Cultists navel gaze about why 'the creator' did this, or doesnt do that, what a waste of time.

              There is no god, the only thing we have to rely on is one-another, and the "religion" come "idiot barrier" prevents 75% of Canadians (other 25% are atheists/agnostic) from participating in society. So yes, I hate "god". I also hate illiteracy, birth-defects and pollution.

              "Abdacating" eh? Thinking for yourself has gotten you far....
              How about "abdicating" then - big f'ing deal... I can use a spellcheck as well as you.

              • The idea fuels endless jihad-like wars...

                Yes, but, would we have had monty python's work without it. Think about it, do you really want to do away with:

                ARTHUR: I'm averting my eyes, oh Lord.
                GOD: Well, don't. It's like those miserable Psalms - they're so depressing.

                How about "abdicating" then - big f'ing deal... I can use a spellcheck as well as you.

                And, apparently, you should....

  • Boston Harbor Sediment (Score:5, Funny)

    by CaptainStormfield ( 444795 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:11PM (#5215700)
    Of course, not all sediment has as many, ahem, "nutrients" as Boston Harbor sediment. . .

    Do you still have to get a hepatitis shot if you fall in the harbor?
    • Are you inferring that we dump our oceans full of untreated waste rather then letting it decompose properly [gortbusters.org]. We just reported [slashdot.org] on it!
      • Well, I infer from the evidence that we do in fact dump large amount of untreated waste into the oceans. I wasn't implying that doing so is a good idea. I think that Boston Harbor is a rather more pleasant place now that it doesn't smell of sewage.

      • Shit happens (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Chocolate Teapot ( 639869 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @02:41PM (#5216550) Homepage Journal
        If you read this paper [who.int], it becomes clear that the practice of using human excrement as a natural fertilizer is far from perfect.
        Cysticercosis of the central nervous system (neurocysticercosis) is caused by the larval stage (cysticerci) of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium. The two-host life cycle of this tapeworm comprises human beings as definitive hosts and swine as intermediate hosts. Pigs become infected when they ingest human faeces containing T. solium eggs, which develop in the muscle and brain into cysticerci. When people eat undercooked pork containing viable cysticerci, they develop an intestinal tapeworm infection, but not cysticercosis of the central nervous system. Human beings can also become intermediate hosts, however, by directly ingesting T. solium eggs shed in the faeces of human carriers of the parasite. These eggs then develop into cysticerci which migrate mostly into muscle (causing cysticercosis) and into the central nervous system where the cysticerci can cause seizures and many other neurological symptoms (cysticercosis of the central nervous system).
        This is particularly prevalent in China, where as you quite rightly observed, human faeces is used as fertiliser.
    • Humm. Must be all the tea which was spilled by 'accident'.

  • Ewww? (Score:1)

    by Lukano ( 50323 )
    Sounds like an interesting project, but the problem I always see with stuff like this is how often will people think "ewww.. a living battery" when going into a store and looking at something to power their equipment.

  • Living Battery? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:13PM (#5215712)
    Did I just take the red pill?!
  • So this is the first step in turning us all in to batteries?

  • An example of how (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Gortbusters.org ( 637314 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:15PM (#5215720) Homepage Journal
    the Ocean area is under utilized. It is more than just a dumping ground for waste, and more than just a source of fancy foods [gortbusters.org]. Maybe the recently reported new plane-like submarines will help us explore and find better ways of energy.

  • Ye gods. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:15PM (#5215723)
    I can already imagine activists shouting: Free the Batteries!

  • New gardening tip... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Alcohol Fueled ( 603402 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:17PM (#5215732) Homepage
    Remember, be sure to water your computer battery at least twice a day.

  • Who needs oil? (Score:4, Funny)

    by after5 ( 451598 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:20PM (#5215745) Journal
    Great, the Cuyahoga River (Cleveland) catches fire and Boston Harbor sediment can produce power. How does this look good for American water supplies, again?
    • I was actually quite suprised last week to find that the Hudson River had mostly frozen. Apparently it's more pure than anyone I know ever thought. Or it was just REALLY cold.

  • Fat American as working batteries (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    From the article:

    Microbes are in the electron-generation business as well. Rather than generate extra electrons to move down a wire, microbes obtain electrons from organic material (sugars, proteins, fats)

    Now we just have to find a way to convert human fat to electricity. A luposuction powered electic car. You get a body that you want, save the environment and stop funding the terrorist!

    But now would that pave the road for the future world in Matrix?

  • I'm just waiting (Score:3, Funny)

    by greechneb ( 574646 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:22PM (#5215754) Journal
    I can't wait till they can use methane gas from bathrooms to power computers. It will kill two birds with one stone -

    1 - cheap power from reusable sources (humans digestive systems)

    2 - intake fans in bathroom will help with gas odors left in bathroom

  • Boston Harbor eh? (Score:3, Funny)

    by phrantic ( 630202 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:23PM (#5215759)
    I've got stuff living in my sock drawer that must be good for a decent size battery in the mega-Ah range I would say.
  • Build a cell from potatoes [quantumscientific.com] if you want. Copper + Zinc + Acid = electricity...

    Baz

    • The "potato clocks" and such are misleading. You're not getting the power from the potato. The power comes from the electric differential between the two electrodes of dissimilar metals. The potato just supplies an electrolyte. You can get exactly the same effect by sticking the electrodes into salt water. The metals gradually dissolve away, and when they're gone the system can't generate any more power.

  • Oh No (Score:2, Funny)

    by YH ( 126159 )
    The ASPCB will be up in arms!!

  • Article info (Score:5, Informative)

    by danimrich ( 584138 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:30PM (#5215793) Homepage Journal

    This is the corresponding article in Science:

    Electrode-Reducing Microorganisms That Harvest Energy from Marine Sediments
    Daniel R. Bond, Dawn E. Holmes, Leonard M. Tender, and Derek R. Lovley
    Science 2002 January 18; 295: 483-485. (in Reports)

  • but maybe this one is for real. :)

  • More information on microbial power plants (Score:5, Informative)

    by juushin ( 632556 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:42PM (#5215856)
    As far as more information on Lovley's study, there aren't many details floating around. The article still hasn't appeared in print in Science (possibly this week). I did find some press releases from UMass that shed a bit more light on their work:

    http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/archive/2002/01170 2electrodes.html

    http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/archive/2002/11130 2harbor.htm

  • I read Neal Stephenson's Zodiac [amazon.com]. I wouldn't be suprised if the answer to cold fusion couldn't be found in that muck at the bottom of Boston Harbor!

  • Ah! That explains everything! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Chocolate Teapot ( 639869 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:44PM (#5215863) Homepage Journal
    Using Desulfuromonas acetoxidans (a Geobacter bacteria) the researchers were able to produce enough electrical current to power a lightbulb or a simple computer.
    That's why nerds never wash. They're not unhygenic, just extremely overclocked.
  • When will we finally harness the eternal spunkiness of the Hamster???

  • Original paper published January 2002... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Olinator ( 412652 ) <olc+sdot&hex,cs,umass,edu> on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:48PM (#5215889) Homepage
    ...And entitled "Harnessing Microbially Generated Power on the Seafloor" can be found in PDF format at http://zdna.micro.umass.edu/publications/12091916. pdf [umass.edu]. The basic idea is to use geobacter organisms (which occur naturally in various places, such as the mud on the bottom of Boston harbor) to generate electricity, by giving them a graphite anode to colonize.

    Ole
  • I wouldn't call sediment from Boston Harbor "environmentally friendly" by any means.

    BC

  • At least someone out here is doing something important!

  • Modern "Potato Clock" (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Suydam ( 881 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @12:53PM (#5215914) Homepage
    This seems vaguely reminiscent of the potato clock I had when I was a kid.

    You stuck potatoes (or fruit) in plastic cups, hooked up some wires to them and *wallah* you had your own LCD clock running just fine.

    • Now my sig line makes sense.

      (it was supposed to be someone slurring the sentence ".. I got up at 8 o'clock")

    • There's a bit of a bonus with the potato clock, you know. You can use the byproduct to run your new hydrogen fueled car:


      From http://www.quantumscientific.com/pclock.html [quantumscientific.com]



      The potato contains phosphoric acid. This acid causes chemical reactions to occur at each of the electrodes (galvanized nail and copper penny). The reaction at the copper electrode strips electrons from the copper and attaches them to the Hydrogen ions (2H+) in the phosphoric acid. This depletes the electrons on the copper electrode which makes it "hungry" for more. The process creates Hydrogen gas.


      Ok, well, maybe you would really really big potato battery, or a really really tiny car...

    • Re:Modern "Potato Clock" (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Actually "potato batteries" are just regular batteries : Two electrodes of different metals and an acid electrolyte (potatoes contain acid, if you tried the experiment with a lemon you'd have a much more efficient battery). Oxydo-reduction reactions take place on the electrodes, when one of the electrodes is completely oxydized or when the electrolyte gets used, you can ge no more power.

      Biological batteries are quite different : some microorganisms have the ability to directly oxydize nutriments (to feed themselves) and electrons are generated in the process. When there is no more nutriments available, you just add more and you get more power. That's why it's called a fuel cell, you do not need to change the cell when it is used, you just need to add more fuel. It is also very interresting to be able to get power from what you'd otherwise throw away, like old vegetables or any organic matter.
  • the electricity needed to make the wires & such ?
    'cause if you need more for that manufacture process than you can produce with the microbes, it won't work great....
    also don't forget the energy required to get the microbes in the first place....
    • --I did a potato battery for a science project once. Don't forget that after a while, the potatos dry out, and also need to be replaced before they rot...

  • Iraq. (Score:2, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 )

    It's all coming clear to me now.. Bush doesn't want to take Iraq's oil, they want to use all their sand for energy.

  • Note to myself (Score:5, Funny)

    by ConsoleDeamon ( 611610 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @01:28PM (#5216112) Journal
    dont forget to feed the battery.
  • Feed the bacteria, harvest the heat they generate and generate electricty from that.


  • You can run a simple computer on a potato if you really want to. The question is For how long can you run it for?

  • Important question. (Score:1, Redundant)

    by Apuleius ( 6901 )
    What happens if these bacteria are fed the red pill?
  • If a simple sediment tank can generate energy for a lightbulb, what can be said of a household septic tank???

    What about hog farms? Wow.

  • Details, details, details (Score:5, Informative)

    by kowaikawaii ( 627301 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @02:11PM (#5216351)
    Details...

    They've actually put two of these things up in field sites, and it works well in both polluted (Tuckerton, NJ) and unpolluted (Newport, OR) areas. The energy it's harvesting is from the difference between the oxidizing environment we live in and the reducing environment in which sediment bacteria turn organic matter into methane (and no, the methane can't be effectively harvested.)

    The good news is that the power supply was very steady over 3 months. The bad news is that the power so low as to be useless - it averaged at 28 MILLIwatts per square meter. The area needing to be covered in order to run a lightbulb is left as an exercise for the reader, but the answer's big. They're currently thinking this might be a good way to power long-term monitoring devices deployed in the middle of the ocean and other distant places, but as a practical power source - go get a photovoltaic!

    • it averaged at 28 MILLIwatts per square meter. The area needing to be covered in order to run a lightbulb is left as an exercise for the reader, but the answer's big

      Keep in mind that surface area is not necessarily a meaningful indicator of volume. If it is just raw surface area that is needed, you can fold the material repeatedly to condense it into a small volume. Think of a radiator or heatsink. I'm not sure if this is at all applicable to this processes, but it's possibile.
      • The problem here is that the surface area has to be buried in the sediment, which means digging up and re-depositing (or burrowing through) a lot of sediments. It's possible that newer cathodes with higher surface area might be used (there's been some experimenting with graphite felt), but the bacteria are basically limited in how fast they can carry out the reducing reactions. Essentially, unless you can speed up the bacterial process, we still need a lot of surface area.
  • Boss: "What is that horrible stench!"

    Employee: "My laptop battery developed a leak."

  • Why? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ottffssent ( 18387 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @02:17PM (#5216388)
    While I appreciate that science for its own sake isn't entirely a waste of time, money, talent, etc. I can't help but wonder what posessed these people to study such a thing. As an energy source, I'm forced to wonder what the point is. I mean, the effort that went into this could (imho) have been better spent designing robot-serviceable PV panel arrays and/or securing funding to start building. Granted, there's the problem of energy distribution, and room-temp superconductors are still way too expensive, but that shouldn't stop someone from working on the production side.

    I suspect the R&D effort would be pretty minimal and the biggest hurdle would be funding. Starting a solar power plant is really expensive, but it should be pretty low-risk and high-profit since ongoing expenses would be virtually nil (repairs, and a few people to monitor things). Can someone more knowledgeable about the industry explain to me why nobody has paved over a few square miles of Nevada desert with solar panels yet?

    • Re:Why? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Simon Field ( 563434 ) on Monday February 03, 2003 @02:48PM (#5216623) Homepage


      A quote from this article [umass.edu]:

      Lovley's group also has found that some Geobacters can convert toxic organic compounds, such as toluene, to electricity. Lovley says this suggests that some Geobacters can be used to harvest energy from waste matter, or can be included in technology used to clean up subsurface environments contaminated by organic matter, especially petroleum. Earlier studies had shown bacteria could produce electricity under artificial conditions in which special chemicals were added, but the UMass study was the first to prove that the nearly ubiquitous microbes living in a typical marine environment could produce electricity under the conditions naturally found in that environment.

      "Once we know more about the genome of Geobacters, we will be able to manipulate these organisms to make them receptive to a variety of organic or inorganic contaminants. Theoretically, when they begin to degrade the contaminant, they will throw electrons on an electrode, and that could set off a light, a sound or some other form of signal," Lovely said. "An understanding of how this phenomenon operates has a number of extremely timely applications, especially in developing technologies to recognize toxins and organic contaminants." Lovley cites, for example, the potential for using such technology to develop military equipment that could alert soldiers to the presence of toxins or biological warfare agents in the immediate environment.

      The Office of Naval Research funded this study.

      Just because you can only think of one use for a technology, don't be quick to label it useless.

      Other uses might be to power seafloor monitoring instruments, or just to indicate that some interesting reaction is taking place.

    • Re:Why? (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Nikola Tesla (the discoverer of electricity as we use it!) theorized that, using the earth as a natural power source, everyone with an antenna in their backyard would have all the free electricity they could use. Some say this is precisely the reason his lab was torched and he was 'accidentally' run over. He was a genius ahead of his time, and it's precisely the parent post's kind of incredulity of the potential of the earth as a power source that has prevented us from following in his footsteps. I, for one, feel that this is far more than science for its own sake. It just needs to be taken seriously.
    • Like my signals and systems teacher says

      "If you know how to build (room temperature superconductors) come see me."

      I don't care how expensive they are, I'll buy them.

      =>

  • And this is our 10MegaWatt wetlands model, which supplies fresh water, ducks, hunting, fishing, and ...

    I once saw a house that processed sewage/waste with a swimming pool size artificial wetlands.. interesting to power your house too!
  • rachael's been dipping her feet in terestrial electrolyte for years during those grueling photoshoots. photo [rhoadspress.com]
  • then AI.

    Next, autonomous machines.

    After that, humans as batteries for the autonomous machines.

    Who said The Matrix wasn't real?

  • Holy mackerel this is catching on fast.

    My neighbor just told me that kids at the elementary school down the street are powering a digital clock (small computer?) with electricity generated by a potato.

    Things will never be the same.

  • another reference to it (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ZZZ [zzz.com.ru] has an article on the sediment battery here [zzz.com.ru] from a while ago (scroll down a bit). I'm wondering how many jars would be needed to have any sort of effective power source...not to mention inconsistent power depending on sunlight or something :-)
  • ...Let me be the first (or 15th for that matter) to say "hoax". This is about as likely as running a server from a few potatoes.
  • It looks like this particular incarnation of a bio-battery isn't so useful, but it makes me wonder: a battery discharges essentially by eating away at one of the electrodes. When a battery is recharged, the metal from the electrode is re-deposited on it, however this doesn't happen quickly, efficiently, or completely. Perhaps it would be possible to find a species of bacteria that could help in this process? Perhaps the electrolyte could have some kind of nutrient in it that the bacteria would eat and re-deposit the metal in the process?
  • Wow! Imagine a beowulf cluster, powered by these.
  • Reminds me of a movie moment. Final Fantasy Ovo packs anyone?

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