Stanford researchers harvest electricity from algae, unkempt pools become gold mines
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted April 15th 2010 12:49PM
posted April 15th 2010 12:49PM
While we've seen plenty of stabs at viable green energy, from underwater turbines to the Bloom Box, we're always up for another. Running along the same lines as Uppsala University's algae-based batteries, researchers at Stanford are generating electrical current by tapping into the electron activity of individual algae cells. The team designed a gold electrode that can be pushed through a cell membrane, which then seals around it. The cell, still alive, does what it does best (photosynthesis), at which point scientists harvest chemical energy in the form of electrons. According to Stanford University News, this results in "electricity production that doesn't release carbon into the atmosphere. The only byproducts of photosynthesis are protons and oxygen." Of course, the team has a long way to go before this is economically feasible, but who knows? Maybe there's an algae-powered OPhone in your future...
seriously algae is the future. food. energy. all that
@uck Too bad Algae isn't a very 'tasty' future ... blegh!
@Geaux
I really dont mind it, especially if it is hidden within other tastes.. ya know. like an additive
@uck
It certainly is the future. BTW ancient cultures in Central and South Americas cultivated Arthrospira (aka Spirulina supplement) and this algae is now the most cultivated for food use worldwide. This supplement is practically all one needs to live. It was used as a garnish, but can sustain a person. It's silly to have people hunger when this stuff is so easily made.
@uck
Soylent Green ?
@uck This just in...Malaria outbreak reported - seems to be linked to Scientists harvesting energy.
@uck
we are all going to laugh one day when we look back at this era of gas, coal and oil powered everything. There will be pictures in history books of the smog in inner cities to the black smoke coming out of semi-trucks and boats.
soon power will be harvested out of anything. I wish i could be alive to see it go down.
@uck Like hooves and noses and petroleum by-products. Yum! (:
@leemahi
ya right. if this became a major energy source global warming idiots would be freaking out from it producing "too much oxygen" which would then be labeled as a pollutant by the EPA like co2 just was. morons!
introducing the new algal bloom box.
don't just go green- go algal green!
@Geaux Can't be any worse than Tofu...
@uck
wow i knew about algae been used for electricity for nearly a 2 years now that it had the potential nothing new engadget
What could be greener?
@Atkins A technology that gets it's power from the colour green?
@geekthree
Maybe the battery looks like a lantern and uses ring-sized adapters...
@Atkins I was hoping to make a dumb joke about brown or red algae, but no, they used green algae for this experiment.
YOU WIN THIS TIME, SCIENCE.
@Atkins The answer is none. None more green.
What...What is Stanford doing in my swimming pool?!
@Nitesh
Harvestin' ur algaez
@Sogeking
Harvestin' ur....algaez?
@daaper
No, Nitesh's algaez!
@daaper
No, Nitesh's algaez!
Good, my Volt Cannon is always hungry for more electricity.
@Duke Nukem
Not as hungry as my ride, I assure you.
@Batman
But can it make... bacon?
Cause I'm always makin' bacon...
@Duke Nukem
Can you finish making bacon or dose it take Duke Nukem Forever to make it?
@Duke Nukem
*runs away* Lucius!!!
@OCEAN CLAK
Hmm, don't have time to play with myself.
@OCEAN CLAK
+1
@Duke Nukem I got balls of steel
@Mattd00d
Glad you're enjoying my pinball machine game.
Those people should really be wearing HEV suits.
Country like China will be benefit the most, consider they had the most algae due to the pollution.
-give me two sushi, one for me and the other for my cellphone.
That's really cool.
one more step toward the Matrix
@kingofwale
My thoughts exactly
"The team designed a gold electrode that can be pushed through a cell membrane.... The cell, still alive... at which point scientists harvest chemical energy in the form of electrons."
Yikes
Anybody thirsty?
Yes, it's got "a long way to go before this is economically feasible," because it seems that right now they have to stick electrodes in each algae cell individually. Gold electrodes, That means REALLY expensive generators, both in labor and material. Not to mention considerations for the life expectancy of an individual algae cell before you have to unplug one and plug the electrode into a different cell.
@Michael Pollard I was thinking the same thing..nevermind they are gold, but having to stick something in each individual cell is so labor intensive...im sure they will come up w/ new processes over time..but the way it is described up top pretty much limits this to laboratory research right now
@Michael Pollard Hmmm...only intra-cell tapping of energy is unfeasible. Who knows, maybe then can ultimately come up with something that can tap an entire colony. Maybe genetically-engineered algae.
We are a long way from sticking the power cord from your Chevy Volt into your algae pool and charging it overnight, then drinking some of the algae for nutritious breakfast in the morning.
@Michael Pollard
This tech really is the shit if they do ever make it feasible. I'm a horticulturist and when I was in college a few years ago, this was always something that people in our department talked about--its always been a biotech's dream to harness the power of photosynthesis since plants have been making electricity extremely efficiently for a long long time now. Although based on what I learned in grad school, it was my understanding that the biggest thing blocking using plant cells to generate electricity was the fact that people couldn't fully explain all the nitty gritty details of what a plant does chemically during photosynthesis.
On another note regarding expenses, don't voice your concerns too loud or else all the people that voiced their adamant support for the wave electricity generators regardless of the expense will start chiming in saying that we need to use new green tech no matter what the cost is or how much debt it puts us in.
@Rick James What is this debt you speak of? Money is an illusion. Credit is made from nothing. On the other hand, my health, or lack of, is very real.
@BigD145
Dude, I think you're an illusion the way you're talking. Besides we're talking about people who say that CO2 is a pollutant. Life wouldn't exist without CO2. Besides, everyone knows that there are more things in this world that we can do to improve everyone's health while spending less money and actually saving more lives. But that's just my 2 cents.
If i can power my house with a moderate sized pond in my backyard. I approve.
Has anything happened with that box that those guys made to stick on your exhaust to catch the fumes and feed to algae to create biofuel (etc etc)?
if its photosynthesis, couldn't you use any tree or even synthetic photosynthesis?
What they're not telling you is that the algae die. The process interrupts/steals the plants ability to actually absorb energy during photosynthesis. This, my friends, is algae holocaust.
@SaggyBalls
Who knows, maybe the algae then makes more energy to sustain it. If so, then when the limit is found, you have a very long source of energy without hassle.
Well its about time!