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Nature Biotechnology 21, 1229–1232 (1 October 2003) | doi:10.1038/nbt867

Electricity generation by direct oxidation of glucose in mediatorless microbial fuel cells

Swades K Chaudhuri & Derek R Lovley

Abundant energy, stored primarily in the form of carbohydrates, can be found in waste biomass from agricultural, municipal and industrial sources as well as in dedicated energy crops, such as corn and other grains. Potential strategies for deriving useful forms of energy from carbohydrates include production of ethanol and conversion to hydrogen, but these approaches face technical and economic hurdles.