There are passive cooling systems that don’t require electricity, and then this biofilm capable of turning sweat into continuous power. Created by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, this innovative biofilm is capable of harvesting energy in evaporation and converting it to electricity, thus potentially revolutionizing the world of wearable electronics.
Unlike other ‘green-energy’ sources, this one lives up to its name, using a thin sheet of bacterial cells (G. sulfurreducens) that are known to produce electricity and has been previously utilized in “microbial batteries” to power electrical devices. This new biofilm can produce more energy than a comparably sized battery and works continuously, because it is dead, which means it does not need to be fed. This is achieved from it making energy from the moisture on your skin. That’s right, since the surface of our skin is constantly moist with sweat, the biofilm converts the energy locked in evaporation into enough energy to power small wearable electronics.
It’s much more efficient. We’ve simplified the process of generating electricity by radically cutting back on the amount of processing needed. We sustainably grow the cells in a biofilm, and then use that agglomeration of cells. This cuts the energy inputs, makes everything simpler and widens the potential applications,” said Derek Lovley, Distinguished Professor of Microbiology at UMass Amherst and one of the paper’s senior authors.
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