A waste product from the manufacture of biofuels has been
developed to power fuel cells, which in turn can be used to
generate low cost electricity. The by-product from the
manufacture of biofuels is called Distillers Dried Grain with
Solubles (DDGS). It is produced from bioethanol production and
its main use is as high protein livestock food. The announcement
was made at a meeting of the Society for Microbiology (SGM),
(September 5 2012. Bioethanol is an alcohol made by
fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or
starch crops such as corn or sugarcane. According to a research
brief from the SGM, the DDGS material has been developed by
researchers based at the University of Surrey to power microbial
power cells. The science team took the DDGS together with
bacteria-inoculated sludge from a waste water treatment plant
and placed it into a specially designed fuel cell. Azom.com
explain that the fuel cell was designed in such a way that the
bacteria, which used the DDGS as a growth source, were