The Supergen Biological Fuel Cells Consortium 2010-2014 (CORE)

SuperGen生物燃料电池联盟正在开发先进的技术，利用生物系统的特殊特性生产能源。燃料电池通过燃料(如氢或甲醇)与氧气(来自空气)在一对电极上发生反应来发电，而不是通过燃烧产生热量。通常，燃料电池需要昂贵的部件，如特殊催化剂(铂)和膜。相比之下，生物燃料电池使用整个生物体或单独的酶作为催化剂，可能不需要膜。目前正在开发两种燃料电池--微生物燃料电池(MFCs)和基于酶的燃料电池。MFC在改善我们的环境和节约能源方面发挥着重要的作用，而基于酶的燃料电池(EFCS)为新型燃料电池提供了独特的机会，包括那些可以被制造成非常小的利基应用的燃料电池，例如植入式电源。MFC使用细菌，与电极接触，将有机物(燃料)转化为电能。它们还可以用于去除(氧化)供水中的污染物，其优点是同时产生的电力抵消了修复所需的能源成本。EFCS利用了酶的高活性、高效率和高选择性，认识到在大多数情况下，特别是当连接到电极上时，它们的性能远远优于人造催化剂。该联盟结合了几个领域的专业知识，并计划在几个方面推动该领域的发展。这些措施包括：明确了解微生物如何在电极上定居，如何维持有用的细菌和阻止有害微生物定居；了解和改进电荷在细菌和电极之间转移的方式；利用廉价和丰富的材料优化电极设计，重点关注表面化学孔隙率和导电性等因素；设计用于小规模特殊应用的新型燃料电池；最后但并非最不重要的是，找到新的方法取代铂作为氧还原的电催化剂。

The Supergen Biological Fuel Cells Consortium is developing advanced technologies that exploit the special properties of biological systems for energy production. A fuel cell produces electricity by reacting a fuel (such as hydrogen or methanol) with oxygen (from air) at a pair of electrodes instead of by combustion,which produces only heat. Normally, fuel cells require expensive components such as special catalysts (platinum) and membranes. In contrast, biological fuel cells use whole organisms or isolated enzymes as catalysts, and a membrane may not be necessary. Two kinds of fuel cell are under development - microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and enzyme-based fuel cells. MFCs have an important role to play in improving our environment and conserving energy whereas enzyme-based fuel cells (EFCs) provide unique opportunities for new kinds of fuel cells, including ones that can be made very small for niche applications such as implantable power sources. MFCs use bacteria, held in contact with an electrode, to convert organic matter (the fuel) into electrical power. They can also be used to remove (oxidising) contaminants from water supplies with the advantage that the electrical power that is simultaneously produced offsets the energy costs for remediation. EFCs exploit the high activities, efficiencies and selectivities of enzymes, recognising that in most cases, and particularly when attached to an electrode, their performance is far superior to man-made catalysts. The Consortium combines expertise in several areas and plans to advance the field on several fronts. These include the following: developing a clear understanding of how microbes colonise electrodes, how useful bacteria can be sustained and undesirable microbes deterred from colonising; understanding and improving the way that electrical charge is transferred between bacteria and electrodes; optimising the design of electrodes from cheap and abundant materials, focusing on such factors as surface chemistry porosity and conductivity; designing novel fuel cells for small-scale special applications; last but not least, finding new ways to replace platinum as the electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction.