Microbial fuel cells clean up the environment and revolutionize wastewater management

Hy-SyEnce, a relatively new company to the world of fuel cells, has been working on a new fuel cell that will derive its power from wastewater.

Wastewater management is becoming an issue of concern amongst the environmentally minded.

Many companies introduce toxins and chemicals into rivers, lakes and other water sources, tainting the environment and, in some instances, creating widespread dead zones. Water is a fundamental part of all forms of life on the planet and when water becomes poisonous, it damages the environment. Hy-SyEnce may have a solution with what they are calling a microbial fuel cell.

The microbial fuel cell in packed with millions of waste-eating microbes. After the microbes feed on the waste products found in water, it is released back into the environment much cleaner. Such microbes have been experimented with the past as a means of wastewater management, but the primary drawback of their use is that they release methane.

Hy-SyEnce, however, has found a microbe that does not release methane. Instead, it releases hydrogen.

Hydrogen is the waste product of the microbes and a fundamental part of a fuel cell. By connecting the two, Hy-SyEnce has been able to make a system that produces both electricity and a large amount of clean water into the environment. The system is still is early stages of testing, but company officials say that it will enter a public beta phase of testing by the end of this year.