Due to the lack of resources and energy, people's eyes have shifted from traditional wind energy and electric energy to microbial electrocatalysis, which is closer to nature and cheaper. Optimizing microbial fuel cells through continuous improvement with engineering concept has become one of the research hotspots in the field of biochemistry in recent years. For the first time, the team of college students applied the complex concept of mixed bacteria to microbial fuel cells, and obtained more efficient and stable electric output results.
Microbial fuel cell is a device that uses microorganisms to convert chemical energy into electrical energy. At present, a variety of single-strain microbial fuel cells have been developed at home and abroad. However, due to the limited metabolic capacity of electricity-producing bacteria, small room for improvement, difficult transformation and harsh culture conditions, the traditional microbial fuel cell has low power generation efficiency and is difficult to realize industrial application.
Tianda's microbial fuel cell chose a mixed flora system. Students use genetic engineering to transform strains, so that the hybrid bacteria system cultivated by engineering can not only be born, but also cooperate efficiently. "In the system we designed, each microorganism has its own unique function, with a clear division of labor and their own duties. This can reduce the metabolic burden of electricity-producing bacteria in traditional microbial fuel cells, improve their electron transfer efficiency, and make the system power supply last longer and have higher efficiency. " Liu Yue, a member of the team and a graduate student majoring in biochemistry at the School of Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University, said.
"Bacteria are like a team, doing their job. The culture medium provides them with the air and water they need for survival. We hope that in the future, by feeding them a spoonful of sugar or a handful of grass containing cellulose, they will be more motivated and generate electricity to meet our living and production needs. " Professor Yuan, the team instructor and the School of Chemical Engineering of Tianjin University, said: "After gradual technical optimization, it can produce the same power output as lithium batteries, with long duration, low cost and zero pollution."
It is understood that this battery developed by Tianda Chemical Research Institute can generate electricity continuously and efficiently for more than 80 hours. In the future, through the improvement of engineering design and device materials, it is possible to make a 5th battery, even a mobile phone battery.
The judges of the International Genetic Engineering Machine Design Competition spoke highly of the achievements made by the team from the School of Chemical Engineering of Tianjin University. Professor John Eyre, director of the Biology Center of the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, said: "The mixed bacteria battery has a good prospect, and Tianda has done very well."
The International Genetic Engineering Machine Design Competition sponsored by MIT is the highest international academic competition in the field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology tries to redesign the existing natural biological system, or to design and construct artificial biological system, with the aim of creating a brand-new biological system by understanding the operating mechanism of natural biological system.