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Hydrogen fuel from microbial
"factories".
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| Article Type: | Brief article |
| Subject: |
Hydrogen as fuel
(Usage) Hydrogen as fuel (Research) Sewage (Purification) Sewage (Methods) |
| Author: | Cotta, Michael A. |
| Pub Date: | 04/01/2008 |
| Publication: | Name: Agricultural Research Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office Audience: Academic; General Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Agricultural industry; Biotechnology industry; Business Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 U.S. Government Printing Office ISSN: 0002-161X |
| Issue: | Date: April, 2008 Source Volume: 56 Source Issue: 4 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 310 Science & research |
| Product: | Product Code: 2813721 Hydrogen Fuel NAICS Code: 32512 Industrial Gas Manufacturing SIC Code: 2813 Industrial gases |
| Geographic: | Geographic Scope: United States Geographic Code: 1USA United States |
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| Accession Number: | 202705804 |
| Full Text: |
The natural abundance of hydrogen and its capacity to store and
release energy in a nonpolluting manner make it highly appealing as a
potential source of energy. But at present, about 95 percent of U.S.
hydrogen is derived from petroleum or natural gas, via a process called
"steam reforming." So scientists are evaluating bacterial
species--including Bacteroides and Shewanella--for their potential use
in fuel-cell systems. The systems would use mixtures of selected
bacteria to treat organic wastewater, catalyzing release of protons and
electrons, which could then produce electricity or hydrogen fuel. The resources of the ARS Microbial Culture Collection--comprising about 87,000 microbial strains from around the world--are being tapped for bacterial candidates. The 3-year project is being done in cooperation with researchers at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. Michael A. Cotta, USDA-ARS Fermentation Biotechnology Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, Illinois; phone (309) 681-6500, e-mail mike.cotta@ars. usda.gov. |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |