Introduction

Bioelectronics engineers have created a strain of the deadly E. coli bacterium that can generate electricity as the microbe thrives in raw sewage.

The Versatile Escherichia Coli Bacteria

Escherichia coli is known as a large and diverse group of bacteria found in the intestines of humans and animals, as well as in nature, where they feed on decaying organic matter.

A Revolutionary Breakthrough

The breakthrough is expected to revolutionize sustainable energy efforts and could turn the more than 640 billion pounds of human waste generated each year into a bonanza for utility companies.

A New Method of Electricity Generation

Electricity is often generated by water flowing through turbines, as in the case of hydroelectric dams, or hot steam passing through turbines, as in the case of nuclear power and some coal and gas power plants.

But this new method, in which two electrodes are immersed in a stream of contaminated water, uses a new, higher-energy version of the normal electrochemical activity of E. coli bacteria to generate an electrical current from the wastewater to the wires.

Enhanced Electrical Current Generation

Bioengineered E. coli bacteria are three times better at generating electrical current than regular bacteria, researchers reported.

Unlike previous methods, this new strain can produce electricity by digesting or metabolizing a variety of organic materials, not just human feces.

Reducing Carbon Emissions

This innovation could significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions that have led to climate warming due to the generation of electricity by burning oil, coal, and natural gas.

“Although there are alien microbes that produce electricity naturally, they can only do so in the presence of certain chemicals,” said Erdemis Boghossian, professor of chemical engineering at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

The Engineering Process

Bogosian and her team used a process known as extracellular electron transfer (EET) to engineer bacteria with the goal of making them highly efficient electrical microbes.

Establishing this complete EET pathway in E. coli has resulted in bacteria that produce electrical current at a rate 3 times faster than traditional bioelectric bacterial strategies.

Combining Components for Enhanced Power

This was achieved by combining components of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 bacteria, known to generate electricity, with Escherichia coli bacteria.

The result is a microbe whose electrical pathway spans the inner and outer membranes of every single-celled organism, increasing its electrical power.

Thriving on Waste

A new strain of E. coli has demonstrated its ability to produce electricity by metabolizing various organic substrates.

“The alien electric microbes couldn’t even survive, while the bioengineered electric bacteria were able to thrive exponentially by feeding on waste,” says Boghossian.

Implications Beyond Recycling

The EPFL team said the implications of their research go beyond recycling. They also believe that engineered E. coli bacteria could help power microbial fuel cells and special biosensors.

Conclusion

The study was published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Joule.

Source: Daily Mail