http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19743/?nlid=686
Bruce Logan from Pen State has for years been working on getting hydrogen with the help of bacteria.
Here is the problem: you can use electricity to get hydrogen from water, BUT it takes more energy to get the hydrogen than the energy produced from the hydrogen. A simple law of nature that you can't get something for nothing.
The solution that Penn State has worked on: Use bacteria to help produce hydrogen. Here is the basic recipe.
- Common Bacteria that produce hydrogen as a waste product
- Compost/Waste for them to munch on
- A small bit of electric voltage
- Vinegar - in the article they call for acetic acid.
What makes this exciting is the fact that the engergy produced is 288% better than the engery put into it. Think of it this way. You put in 1 Volt and get 2.88 Volts back. No this is not magic, it is simply bacteria doing their job and just helping them along.
Which is why this, unlike other ideas that people are working on, is getting a patent so the company that funded the project can get money back from this research project.
Now garden composters will be competing against electric companies for waste material.
As for me I welcome the competition.
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