Sep
18
Exoelectrogenic Microbes Hooked Up to Make Power
September 18, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Stanford University engineers have devised a new way to generate electricity from sewage using naturally occurring “wired microbes” as mini power plants. The exoelectrogenic microbes produce electricity as they digest plant and animal waste. The laboratory prototype is about the size of a D-cell battery and looks like a chemistry experiment, with two electrodes, one […]
Nov
2
Making Platinum in Fuel Cells Go Further and Last Longer
November 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Fuel cells are for some the nirvana of portable or mobile energy production. But the problem of a catalyst that tears the hydrogen atom into the parts needed to generate electricity still bedevils the progress to widespread commercial marketability. The best catalyst for efficiency is platinum, the rare, expensive, and beautiful silvery metal. Other ideas […]
Feb
21
A Turbine Generator in a Suitcase
February 21, 2012 | 35 Comments
This is way too cool to overlook. Atsushi Takano at Nikkei Monozukuri magazine reported in Tech-On that IHI Corp of Japan has developed a compact gas turbine generator unit. The gas turbine and generator set is so small it fits in a suitcase. All by itself, running on propane the unit autonomously generates electricity. IHI […]