Study: Bacteria can make salt water drinkable

Discovery News ^ | Aug 25, 2009 | Eric Bland

[decimon]

Bacteria can be used to turn dirty salt water into electricity and drinkable water, according to new research from scientists at Penn State University and Tsinghua University.

The research presents a new spin on microbial fuel cells, which have been used in the past to produce electricity or store it as hydrogen or methane gas.

[NavyCanDo]

What do you want to bet it will be more expensive and less efficient than salt water distillation? But its green, so who cares about how much money they throw at it.

[Kevmo]

bmflr

[BIGLOOK]

The researchers start with a cup full of water from a pond or other natural source. Among the millions of microbes in the sample, some of the bacteria (scientists haven't identified the specific species) will naturally produce electrons and protons inside their cells and transport them outside themselves.

And we have a winner!......ping

[neverdem]

thanks, bfl

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks decimon. Gotta be Bush’s fault.

[SunkenCiv]

Whoops, and thanks BIGLOOK.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Google

[neverdem]

bump & a micro ping

A New Method for Water Desalination Using Microbial Desalination Cells

Search Results

4 more articles from Logan et al. in 2009 using the microbial fuel cell concept for useful work or fuel.

[BIGLOOK]

Given the populations of Chinese coastal cities and their internal cities, water quality is a great concern. I wish them well in their endeavors. Their burgeoning population demands for potable water (like India's) needs resolution, one that will solved naturally.

Once my grandfather (born in 1888) told me something that his father told him which his grandfather which his grandfather told him from knowledge that was passed on from generations since their arrival in the New World.

' The Hudson has never run clear. Get water from creeks and streams.'

Water quality will be an all consuming problem in China where water is plentiful but not potable as much as it is scarce in Saharan and Mid East countries and relatively undrinkable..

There was an elderly professor here that told me that oil discovery was his research goal in the Mid East but the water supply was the local government's control over the populace. He found oil and water. Oil was the government's major concern and water wasn't. Actually it's discovery was suppressed.

Water is King.

[SunkenCiv]

It’s nice to see some traces of family lore around on FR once in a while. Don’t get me started on the kids of today. ;’)

The Nabateans maintained their grip on power by gathering and controlling their water supply; there’s also the ruins of the Marib dam which eventually gave way and the local population left with the runoff pond’s water.

Archaeologists Trace Early Irrigation Farming In Ancient Yemen
Science Daily | Wednesday, July 16, 2008 | adapted from U of Toronto p.r.
Posted on 07/22/2008 11:10:49 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2049804/posts