SEaB Energy creates a powerful fuel cell system that can turn waste into power

SEaB Energy creates a powerful fuel cell system that can turn waste into power

March 30, 2012 0 By John Max

SEaB Energy, a UK-based alternative energy technology startup, has unveiled a new hydrogen fuel cell that could change the world’s perspective of hydrogen energy.

The company has built a kind of microbial fuel cell it is calling the Muckbuster. The fuel cell utilizes bacteria that thrive on garbage. The company claims that the fuel cell can turn old food and sewage into both heat and electricity. Such a system could be beneficial for homes and even agricultural ventures in developing parts of the world.

The Muckbuster energy system is fully contained within a 40-foot shipping container.

Discarded food and sewage can be placed into one side of the container, where it will then travel through an anaerobic digestive system. The waste will be digested by the bacteria contained within the fuel cell. Unlike other microbial fuel cells that produce hydrogen gas, the Muckbuster’s bacteria produce methane, which is then used to generate electricity.

The United States generates more than 240 million tons of waste each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Much of this waste is, essentially, useless as it is unable to be processed due to the fact that it is organic. A system like the Muckbuster, however, can turn this waste into energy. According to SEaB Energy CEO Sandra Sassow, approximately half a ton of waste is enough to power 150 high-end computers. Such an energy system could win many supporters in the environmentalist community.

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