{"id":23589,"date":"2014-12-04T03:12:25","date_gmt":"2014-12-04T01:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=23589"},"modified":"2014-12-03T12:44:04","modified_gmt":"2014-12-03T10:44:04","slug":"clean-energy-bio-batteries-step-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/clean-energy-bio-batteries-step-closer\/","title":{"rendered":"Clean energy ‘bio batteries’ a step closer"},"content":{"rendered":"

A report published today shows how electrons hop across otherwise electrically insulating areas of bacterial proteins, and that the rate of electrical transfer is dependent on the orientation and proximity of electrically conductive \u2018stepping stones\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Shewanella
Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) are a step closer to enhancing the generation of clean energy from bacteria. (Image: Shewanella bacteria<\/em>, Alice Dohnalkova.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is hoped that this natural process can be used to improve \u2018bio batteries\u2019 which could produce energy for portable technology such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops \u2013 powered by human or animal waste.<\/p>\n

Many micro-organisms can, unlike humans, survive without oxygen. Some bacteria survive by \u2018breathing rocks\u2019 \u2013 especially minerals of iron. They derive their energy from the combustion of fuel molecules that have been taken into the cell\u2019s interior.<\/p>\n

A side product of this reaction is a flow of electricity that can be directed across the bacterial outer membrane and delivered to rocks in the natural environment \u2013 or to graphite electrodes in fuel cells.<\/p>\n

This means that the bacteria can release electrical charge from inside the cell into the mineral, much like the neutral wire in a household plug.<\/p>\n

The research team looked at proteins called \u2018multi-haem cytochromes\u2019 contained in \u2018rock breathing\u2019 bacteria such as species of Shewanella.<\/p>\n

Lead researcher Prof Julea Butt, from UEA\u2019s School of Chemistry and School of Biological Sciences said: \u201cThese bacteria can generate electricity in the right environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to know more about how the bacterial cells transfer electrical charge \u2013 and particularly how they move electrons from the inside to the outside of a cell over distances of up to tens of nanometres.<\/p>\n

\u201cProteins conduct electricity by positioning metal centres \u2013 known as haems – to act in a similar way to stepping stones by allowing electrons to hop through an otherwise electrically insulating structure. This research shows that these centres should be considered as discs that the electrons hop across.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relative orientation of neighbouring centres, in addition to their proximity, affects the rates that electrons move through the proteins.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an exciting advance in our understanding of how some bacterial species move electrons from the inside to the outside of a cell and helps us understand their behaviour as robust electron transfer modules.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that understanding how this natural process works will inspire the design of bespoke proteins which will underpin microbial fuel cells for sustainable energy production.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and performed in collaboration with researchers at University College London, UK and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA.<\/p>\n

\u2018Multi-haem cytochromes in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1: structures, functions and opportunities\u2019 is published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface on November 19, 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A report published today shows how electrons hop across otherwise electrically insulating areas of bacterial proteins, and that the rate of electrical transfer is dependent on the orientation and proximity of electrically conductive \u2018stepping stones\u2019. It is hoped that this natural process can be used to improve \u2018bio batteries\u2019 which could produce energy for portable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[],"supplier":[7293,3791,677,7799],"class_list":["post-23589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","supplier-bbsrc","supplier-pacific-northwest-national-laboratory","supplier-university-college-london","supplier-university-east-anglia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23589"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=23589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}