According to the Keelung-based university, the biocatalytic biofuel cell is similar to the enzymatic biofuel cell because both can generate electricity by converting or reducing chemicals.

Project leader Liu Shiu-mei, also a professor at NTOU's Institute of Marine Biology, said the new bacterium species, dubbed Shewanella decolorationis NTOU1, can disintegrate various organic pollutants and organic acids, including azo compounds and triphrnyl methanes dyes, while converting the chemicals into electricity.

Liu said the strain, found by one of her students in an oil refinery, can live in environments with acidity of pH5 to pH9, salinity of 0 per mille to 75 per mille, and temperatures between 10 and 40 degrees Celsius.

"Its biological characteristics make it a better option for the biofuel cell than the widely-used strain Shewanella putrefaciens ATCC8071T," she said.

Citing the current experiment results, Liu said the NTOU1 strain also outdoes the ATCC8071T by generating six times more electricity.

In an experiment, Liu noted, when fed three liters of lactic acid, the NTOU1 bacteria in a one-cubic-meter container were able to produce 50 watts electricity for two days.

"Further improvements would make possible the NTOU1 strain-based biofuel cell," said Liu, adding that for every family, such a solution could provide electricity for the household while meeting waste treatment needs.