Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am doing the project https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure on Microbial Fuel Cells.

While writing the analysis, I was quite confused about the fermentation process in which anaerobic bacteria in soil undergo. Usually the fermentation process and its byproduct would be specified, however, in this case there are numerous bacteria that the soil contains.

I want to ask if there is a specified fermentation process that the soil bacteria undergo (which is probably not the case), or is it unknown so I should just talk about fermentation in general.

Thanks in advance!

Best Regards,

Joanna

Hi Joanna,

That's a very good question and shows that you are thinking through the details of the report.

While there are common soil bacteria species, you are correct that they can vary a lot depending on where the mud came from. You do need to explain anaerobic fermentation in general, but there are some particular species of bacteria that seem to be associated with microbial fuel cells. Check out the references below and see if you can find the information you need. If you need more help, let us know.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... background
These bacteria, known as electrogenic bacteria, include the Shewanella species, which can be found in almost any soil on Earth and are shown in Figure 1, and the Geobacter species, which prefer living in soil deep underground or even under the ocean, where no oxygen is present.

Bibliography

The following website has a lot of great information about the microbiology and electrochemistry of microbial fuel cells.

Illumin. Mercer, Justin. (2010, May 4). Microbial Fuel Cells: Generating Power from Waste. Retrieved June 28, 2016, from http://illumin.usc.edu/134/microbial-fu ... rom-waste/

This website details the work being conducted at Pennsylvania State University. It also shows several pictures of homemade microbial fuel cells, including one built by Ian Bennet, as well as instructions on how to build one.

Logan, B. (2007, December 19). Microbial Fuel Cell Research. Retrieved August 20, 2008, from http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/enve/logan/b ... e_cell.htm

NASA is interested in reusing human waste. Read this website to learn how!

Miller, K. (2004, May 18). Waste Not. Retrieved August 15, 2008, from the Science@NASA website: https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/s ... y_wastenot

Watch this video in which Prof. Bruce Logan explains the technology and applications of a microbail fuel cell:

Youtube (video presented by The American Chemical Society) (2013). Electrifying Wastewater: Using Microbial Fuel Cells to Generate Electricity. Retrieved June 28, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZotwUJAb8R4


Good luck!

Sybee

Thank you for your clarification!

You are most welcome!

If you have other ideas or questions, please ask. We like to help!

Sybee