Willy Wonka could have powered his Great Glass Elevator on
hydrogen produced from his chocolate factory. Microbiologist
Lynne Mackaskie and her colleagues at the University of
Birmingham in the UK have powered a fuel cell by feeding sugar-
loving bacteria chocolate-factory waste. "We wanted to see if we
tipped chocolate into one end, could we get electricity out at
the other?" she says. The team fed Escherichia coli bacteria
diluted caramel and nougat waste. The bacteria consumed the
sugar and produced hydrogen, which they make with the enzyme
hydrogenase, and organic acids. The researchers then used this
hydrogen to power a fuel cell, which generated enough
electricity to drive a small fan (Biochemical Society
Transactions, vol 33, p 76). The process could provide a use for
chocolate waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
What's more, the bacteria's job doesn't have to end once they
have finished chomping on ... To continue reading this article,
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