Cultures for Energy

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Cultures for Energy

• Hannah Zwibelman
• Amanda Wicker
• Ellen Kloppenborg
• Kirsten Reimann
• iit.edu/ekloppen

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Rhodoferax ferrireducens

• Discovered in Virginia
• gt80 efficiency
• Electron transfer without mediator
• Can be used in
• Small batteries
• Pacemakers

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Rhodoferax ferrireducens
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How bacteria fuel cell works

• Bacteria breaks down sugar reducing graphite
  anode
• Hydrogen cation travels to cathode while
  electrons move along current
• Water formed at cathode to complete battery
  circuit

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Engineering Considerations

• Rate of reaction
• Size of cell and amount of energy produced
• Weight of battery
• How often sugar solution changed
• Waste

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Calculations

• Amount Sugar Needed
• 1.127 g/hr at .5 watts
• Cost of Manufacturing Cell
• Nafion 177- 31.00
• Graphite felt- 5.84
• Miscellaneous- 5.00
• Sugar fuel- .002
• Total Cost 40.00

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Economic and Environmental Considerations

• Economic
• Cost of manufacturing battery cell
• Redesign phone

• Environmental
• Nonpolluting
• Waste consumption

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Ethical/Safety Considerations

• Safe for human interaction
• No toxic medium required
• Containable

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Feasibility

• Already manufactured
• cell phones
• Environmentally
• safe and productive
• Safe for people and
• containable

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Cultures for Energyiit.edu/ekloppen

• "Charges for Microbial Cultures." DSMZ.
  lthttp//www.dsmz.de/micprice.htmgt.
•  
• Eisenberg, Anne. "A Sugar Cube, Please I Need
  To Charge My Cellphone."New York Times.
  lthttp//www.geobacter.org/press/2003-09-18-nytimes
  .pdfgt.
•  
• Graphite Felt. Graphite Store.com.
  lthttp//www.graphitestore.com/index.aspgt
•  
• Jardon, Mario. Microbial fuel cells from
  Rhodoferax ferrireducens.
• lt http//www.bioteach.ubc.ca/Bioengineering/micro
  bialfuelcell/gt
•  

• Nokia Cell Phone Batteries. Battery Web.Com.
• lt http//www.batteryweb.com/cellphonedetail.cfm?I
  D329 gt
• Pacemakers. Baptist Health.
• lt http//64.233.167.104/search?qcache45aU8Nk8WQc
  Jwww.baptist-health.com/heart_center/tech_proc/pa
  cemaker/pacemakerbatterieshlen gt
• Rhodoferax ferrireducens sp. nov., a
  psychrotolerant, facultatively anaerobic
  bacterium that oxidizes acetate with the
  reduction of Fe(III)
• lthttp//ijs.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/full/53/3/
  669FNC1gt