Researchers infuse bacteria with silver to improve power efficiency in fuel cells

 

Morea Gjocaj

Mr.Ippolito

Current Event 2

9/21/21

University of California - Los Angeles. "Researchers infuse bacteria with silver to improve power efficiency in fuel cells." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 September 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210916142846.htm>. 

The article “Researchers infuse bacteria with silver to improve power efficiency in fuel cells” written by a team of engineers and chemists in the University of California explains how the team worked together to produce a new form of machinery that takes natural bacteria and uses it to generate stronger electrical currents from extracted electrons. In order to aid in forming this advanced technology, the team used the bacteria that they knew were able to function well with the silver they planned on infusing. They chose bacteria that were capable of creating energy currents, even if they weren’t the strongest. They mainly focused on the bacteria known as Shewanella, since this genus bacteria is capable of growing in all sorts of environments and since they have great "energy-generation capabilities”. Despite the fact that the Shewanella species has many benefits including being able to “break down organic waste matter into smaller molecules, with electrons being a byproduct of the metabolic process” and being able to form fuel cells that produce energy, the bacteria still has its limits. The microbial fuel cells created by this form of bacteria are not capable of capturing enough electrical currents from the bacteria to make it useful. This is where the new technology comes in handy. The team of engineers and scientists added nanoparticles of silver to the electrodes in order to fix the issue. The nanoparticles of silver “release silver ions, which bacteria reduce to silver nanoparticles using electrons generated from their metabolic process and then incorporate into their cells.”. These particles now function as “express lanes” as Xiangfeng Duan, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California said. The new and improved silver-infused Shewanella “ outputs more than 80% of the metabolic electrons to external circuit, generating a power of 0.66 milliwatts per square centimeter” , making the experiment and new technique worthwhile and useful.

This new science technique plays a big role in society because of its effectiveness and effect on the environment. Since the new technology is able to take natural bacteria and use it to extract electrons and create electrical currents from organic matter found in wastewater, the “fuel cells powered by silver-Shewanella hybrid bacteria may pave the way for sufficient power output in practical settings.”. Since the new version of the Shewanella bacteria has energy generating capabilities, they can be used when needed. Whether it's something as small as powering a light bulb using these electrical currents or reviving a town after a minor power outage, these hybrid bacterias really come in handy.

Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this article. I believe that it was very well written, used strong vocabulary, and had multiple individuals working on the experiment behind the article making it a believable source. I enjoyed the format as well as the interesting title that almost immediately caught my attention. Personally, I don’t believe there were any weaknesses within the article. I do however wish there were images of the experiment being performed or something related to what was written in the article to make it more appealing and interesting. I also wish it gave more insight into the impact the silver-infused bacteria has on society. Despite this, the article was amazing and I definitely recommend reading it!