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Scientists Turn Excrement Into Electricity -- Really

Scientists in the U.S. have developed a method to convert raw human waste -- or as the scientists call it, "number two" -- into electricity, putting a brown spin on the green-power movement. Oops, did we say "movement"? Okay, okay, we'll try to be serious: The process works by feeding the ... material ... into a microbial fuel cell (MFC) that uses bacteria to break it down -- much as the human body does -- but diverts the resulting electrons, which would normally power respiratory reactions in the bacteria, into a power generator. Even better, harmful organic matter is broken down in the process, so the MFC can serve as a kind of sewage treatment plant. The technology promises extraordinary benefits, particularly to developing nations that desperately need both sewage treatment and inexpensive energy. But, says microbiologist Derek Lovley, large-scale use is a ways off: "One way to think of this technology is that it is currently at the state of development that solar power was 20 to 30 years ago -- the principle has been shown, but there is a lot of work to do before this is widely used."

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