»Students design microbial fuel cell to charge cellphones
~ a team of American students designed a microbial fuel cell (MFC), that runs on plant waste to charge cellphones
~ a prototype designed by the team of students from MIT, won the first prize of 5,000 U.S. dollars in a contest called MADMEC, sponsored by Dow Chemical
~ MFCs use electrons released by feeding bacteria on sugars, starches, and other organic material, to produce electricity
~ they have potential in many areas, from sewage plants that are powered by the sludge they are processing,
~ to powering an MP3 player, or even aquatic robots
~ team's BioVolt prototypes run on less-refined fuel than Sony's glucose-gobbling battery,
~ the bacteria instead digest the cellulose in plant waste
~ most MFCs use platinum as a catalyst to combine oxygen with electrons and hydrogen ions into water,
~ as part of the electrochemical reaction that produces power
~ the team is using a non-platinum catalyst, so that the cost lowers
~ BioVolt is currently patenting its catalyst and the team is unwilling to divulge what it is made from
~ according to the team it is cheap enough for one of the devices to cost only about 2 US dollars in parts
~ it would currently take around 6 months to charge a phone's battery using a BioVolt
~ BioVolts can be connected together
~ further refinement of the catalyst and design is expected to increase the power output around 100 fold