We ’re still trying to figure out how to properly tackle the power of H as a clean free energy generator — and now we might be able-bodied to foot up some unexpected pointers from some eccentric symbiotic bacterium found at the ocean depth .
Many mussels found around hydrothermal vents live in a symbiotic family relationship with bacteria , which deal central biological functions for their host . In one representative , the bacteria wait on as the powerhouse for the mussels , processing material around them into usable vigour . Intriguingly , these bacteria are actually contain in hydrogen as their great power source , making them the natural equivalent of the hydrogen fuel cells we ’re currently make for to build .
Hydrothermal vents shoot out a steady stream of inorganic chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide , ammonium , methane , Fe and , crucially , atomic number 1 . Since the bottom of the ocean is about as far forth from sun as it ’s potential to get , the energy producer that be around these vent can not make use of photosynthesis like their opposite number on country . Instead , they have to harvest the inorganic chemical substance to produce energy , in a process hump as chemosynthesis .
Until now , researchers were only cognizant of two broad types of chemosynthetic microbes – ones that processed hydrogen sulfide for their server , and ones that processed methane . But now research worker at the Max Planck Institute have find out a third , and it ’s the hydrogen - harvest time bacterium of the Logatchev hydrothermal vent field late beneath the middle of the Atlantic Ocean .
It make sense that the bacteria at this particular venthole would wait to H as an vigour source . Logatchev has the highest get laid hydrogen concentrations in its plumes of any vent , and the research worker calculate that bug could harvest seven times as much energy using hydrogen as they could with methane , and eighteen sentence what they could hope to get from hydrogen sulphide .
It appears that these mussels and their symbiotic mate are far from the only organism to make use of H as an vim beginning , but this is the first sentence that we ’ve actually honour this particular process . Now the only real question is whether there ’s any chance we can cast some hydrogen and some rich - ocean mussel into a cable car locomotive , and just sort of see what happens next …
Via theMax Planck Institute . Image by cat thyme .
BacteriaBiologyEnergyHydrogenScience
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