Bacteria generate electricity from methane

Date:
April 12, 2022
Source:
Radboud University Nijmegen
Summary:
Generating power while purifying the environment of greenhouse
gases should be achievable using bacteria. Microbiologists have
demonstrated that it is possible to make methane-consuming bacteria
generate power in the lab.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Generating power while purifying the environment of greenhouse gases
should be achievable using bacteria. In a new publication, microbiologists
from Radboud University have demonstrated that it is possible to make methane-consuming bacteria generate power in the lab. The study will be published in Frontiers in Microbiology on April 12.


==========================================================================
The bacteria, CandidatusMethanoperedens, use methane to grow and naturally occur in fresh water such as ditches and lakes. In the Netherlands, the bacteria mostly thrive in locations where the surface and groundwater are contaminated with nitrogen, as they require nitrate to break down methane.

The researchers initially wanted to know more about the conversion
processes occurring in the microorganism. In addition, they were also
curious whether it would be possible to use it to generate power. "This
could be very useful for the energy sector," says microbiologist and
author Cornelia Welte. "In the current biogas installations, methane is produced by microorganisms and subsequently burnt, which drives a turbine,
thus generating power. Less than half of the biogas is converted into
power, and this is the maximum achievable capacity. We want to evaluate
whether we can do better using microorganisms." A kind of battery Fellow microbiologists from Nijmegen have previously shown that it is possible
to generate power using anammox bacteria that use ammonium during the
process instead of methane. "The process in these bacteria is basically
the same," says microbiologist Heleen Ouboter. "We create a kind of
battery with two terminals, where one of these is a biological terminal
and the other one is a chemical terminal. We grow the bacteria on one of
the electrodes, to which the bacteria donate electrons resulting from the conversion of methane." Through this approach, the researchers managed
to convert 31 percent of the methane into electricity, but they aim at
higher efficiencies. "We will continue focusing on improving the system,"
Welte says.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Radboud_University_Nijmegen. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Heleen T. Ouboter, Tom Berben, Stefanie Berger, Mike S. M. Jetten,
Tom
Sleutels, Annemiek Ter Heijne, Cornelia U. Welte. Methane-Dependent
Extracellular Electron Transfer at the Bioanode by the Anaerobic
Archaeal Methanotroph "Candidatus Methanoperedens". Frontiers in
Microbiology, 2022; 13 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.820989 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220412095359.htm

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