Chocolate Eating Germs Can Make Clean Burning Hydrogen  

Imagine germs that eat chocolate, and then turn it into clean burning fuel like hydrogen. As strange as that may sound, it’s true. 

The New Scientist reports that Microbiologist Lynne Mackaskie and her research team in England’s University of Birmingham discovered a way to produce hydrogen by feeding waste products from a chocolate factory to bacteria. They fed the germ called Escherichia coli bacteria to a diluted mixture of water, chocolate nougat, and caramel, which is normally left over from the chocolate making process. Once in the sugar, the germs used their own enzyme called hydrogenase to made hydrogen. 

The scientists discovered that this process can also work with other food wastes not just chocolate. The whole food industry could be transformed to one that uses its garbage to make clean renewable energy. Using this process, food factories, including chocolate makers and food processing plants could make their own energy from their waste to power their facilities and even their hydrogen-powered vehicles. In some cases, they could make enough energy to sell the surplus to their local power grid.

Scientists believe this process could become fully practical as a hydrogen producing, waste reducing technology within a 5 -10 year time frame. By then, it could be a feasible way to produce industrial electricity and provide a new waste treatment process. 

Imagine using chocolate to make an energy source like hydrogen, which can be used to power fuel cells for vehicles.  And hydrogen makes no pollution.  Its only byproduct is water.
 
Anything that helps people find cleaner ways to power our world is a good thing and in the case of chocolate a good tasting thing.