News

A team from Kunming University of Science and Technology and the University of Massachusetts Amherst has developed a bio-photovoltage soil-microbe battery" that can capture, store, and release solar energy to power the breakdown of antibiotic pollutants in the dark. The study, published in Environmental and Biogeochemical Processes, shows that common soil bacteria known as Bacillus megaterium can partner with iron minerals to form a living biofilm that behaves like a rechargeable geochemical capacitor. After one hour of light exposure, the system degraded up to 22% of antibiotics in complete darkness, a performance up to 67% higher than with shorter light exposure. "This discovery opens a new window into how solar energy can drive biogeochemical processes even below the soil surface where sunlight cannot reach," said Professor Baoshan Xing of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a co-corresponding author."