May 07 - United Press International



U.S. naval scientists say they're experimenting with electricity generated from bacteria found in mud and wastewater.

A D-cell battery has about 1 watt of energy, or enough to run continuously for about an hour, A microbial fuel cell could provide the same energy continuously for nine months or longer, The Office of Naval Research said in a release Thursday.

Harnessing the electrical charge in bacteria offers an efficient, clean and reliable alternative to batteries and other environmentally harmful fuel sources, naval research scientist Linda Chrisey told National Public Radio in a recent "Science Friday" segment.

"What we'd like to do is be able to persistently power sensors so that, instead of putting a diver in the water to change a battery, which would happen with some frequency, we could put a device in the water and allow it to sustainably operate for months or even years," Chrisey said.