TL 10 Microbial Fuel Cells work as Bioconvertors?

[Flyndaran]

I'm just wondering if advanced microbial fuel cells could work as the TL 10 Bioconvertors in Vehicles 3rd edition.

If so, does 20-30 pounds per kw seem overly optimistic to anyone else?
What would be a reasonable weight/volume?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I'm just wondering if advanced microbial fuel cells could work as the TL 10 Bioconvertors in Vehicles 3rd edition.

Well, a bioconverter that works via microbes is viable enough, though I'm not sure I'd call it a fuel cell; it's more like a biofuel manufacturing system which can be linked to whatever system you use to consume the biofuel (in a human body, that would be the rest of the body). Power density is typically terrible, though, and to a large degree it only resembles real creatures if you're using a circulatory system to feed fuel into fuel-using components.

[Flyndaran]

Search google for microbial fuel cell. It's a real thing right now with plans for larger in the field usage.

[Anthony]

Ah, okay, not quite the system I thought. In any case, there's little reason to assume power density that's higher than you'd get from other bacterial methods, which probably means something like 1W/kg is doing well unless you're using extremely refined food.

[Flyndaran]

That might make sense for modern TL 8 types, but shouldn't TL 10 gengineering be able to really pack in the output density?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

That might make sense for modern TL 8 types, but shouldn't TL 10 gengineering be able to really pack in the output density?

That's quite a lot better than any modern TL 8 figures I can find, and I'm assuming running off of regular biologicals, not something like a sugar solution.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Anthony

That's quite a lot better than any modern TL 8 figures I can find, and I'm assuming running off of regular biologicals, not something like a sugar solution.

I misread part of it, so disregard my excessive optimism.
Still, it proves the principle on which higher tech levels can improve.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Still, it proves the principle on which higher tech levels can improve.

The basic problem is that biotech-based bioconverters are hard-limited by the metabolic rate of a mass of bacteria or similar, and those rates aren't all that high. If you want burst power production, you're going to be better off with bacterial fuel production (probably methane, maybe alcohol or oils) which you then burn on demand. That's how real animals work, food is converted into chemical fuel which can be burned by the muscles.

It's also possible to have a hot bioconverter that uses thermal depolymerization or similar to convert biomass into fuel, but that bears absolutely no resemblance to any real-world animal.

[Flyndaran]

That's all awesome, but sadly doesn't work so well for my bioconvertor powered humanoid robot. Darn it.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

That's all awesome, but sadly doesn't work so well for my bioconvertor powered humanoid robot. Darn it.

Oh, for that, Ignore Realism. Also realize that robots don't necessarily need very much power, human sustained power output is on the order of 150W (actually, on reflection, I'd bump my estimate on microbial fuel cells up, something like 10-20W/kg should be doable).