Loofahs, best known for their use in exfoliating skin to soft, radiant perfection, have emerged as a new potential tool to advance sustainability efforts on two fronts at the same time: energy and waste.
The study describes the pairing of loofahs with bacteria to create a power-generating microbial fuel cell (MFC) and appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.
Shungui Zhou and colleagues note that MFCs, which harness the ability of some bacteria to convert waste into electric power, could help address both the world’s growing waste problem and its need for clean power. Current MFC devices can be expensive and complicated to make. In addition, the holes, or pores, in the cells’ electrodes are often too small for bacteria to spread out in. Recently, researchers have turned to plant materials as a low-cost alternative, but pore size has still been an issue. Loofahs, which come from the fully ripened fruit of loofah plants, are commonly used as bathing sponges. They have very large pores, yet are still inexpensive. That’s why Zhou’s team decided to investigate their potential use in MFCs.
When the scientists put nitrogen-enriched carbon nanoparticles on loofahs and loaded them with bacteria, the resulting MFC performed better than traditional MFCs. “This study introduces a promising method for the fabrication of high-performance anodes from low-cost, sustainable natural materials,” the researchers state.
The Latest on: Microbial fuel cell
- Clemson University partners with NASA on research initiativeon April 30, 2024 at 5:16 am
NASA’s research interests align well with Clemson’s strengths in energy, advanced materials, health, robotics, mobility and autonomous systems, to name a few, and NASA has been an important sponsor of ...
- What’s that?…A fuel cell that harvests energy from…dirt?on April 26, 2024 at 7:10 am
A soil microbial fuel cell where microbes in dirt could power applications which are literally “in the field”.
- Revolutionizing Clean Energy: SRMAP's Breakthrough in Fuel Cell Technology with LaFeO3 Perovskiteon April 26, 2024 at 12:01 am
In the quest for sustainable energy solutions to meet the soaring global energy demands, an innovative breakthrough has emerged from the laboratories of SRM University-AP, situated in the picturesque ...
- Teen brothers teach Alberta students about microbial fuel cell technologyon April 25, 2024 at 3:39 pm
Aaron Tan, 16, is in Grade 11, at Calgary's Westmount Charter Mid-High School, while his brother Justin Tan, 15, is in Grade 9. It was just last year that the pair decided to share their love of ...
- How the Navy Is Fighting Climate Change With Action on Clean Energyon April 24, 2024 at 11:42 am
The U.S. military is the world's largest single source of climate pollution. Work at the Naval Research Laboratory offers greener fuel for sailors and Marines.
- Yeast Fuel, Developed by Chula's Faculty of Science Soon to Expand Its Production for the Aerospace Industryon April 23, 2024 at 9:00 am
Researchers from Chulalongkorn University have made use of forage grass to feed microorganisms and convert the resulting fat into jet fuel. They aim to expand petroleum-based oil replacement ...
- Recycling and Waste Newson April 22, 2024 at 4:59 pm
Methane Emissions from Landfill Could Be Turned Into Sustainable Jet Fuel in Plasma Chemistry Leap ... Scientists Replace Fishmeal in Aquaculture With Microbial Protein Derived from Soybean ...
- Scientists develop new technology that generates essentially endless power from dirt: 'The fuel cell can potentially last forever'on March 15, 2024 at 1:52 pm
The process of developing microbial fuel cells, the basis for dirt-fueled power, began in 1911 — as the Independent explained — when British botanist Michael Cressé Potter first successfully ...
- This Female Entrepreneur Is Using Microbial Fuel Cell Technology To Improve Industrial Wastewater Treatmenton August 23, 2021 at 8:44 am
diesel fuel (trucking) and natural gas (incineration). To help address some of these core issues, Bretschger said in an interview that "the wastewater produced by manufacturing facilities is often ...
- Supercharged: the biofilm anodeon March 29, 2019 at 9:12 am
Microbial fuel cells generate an electric current by harvesting the electrons that are produced by the respiration of substrates. Reporting in Biotechnology & Bioengineering, Kato Marcus and ...
via Bing News
The Latest on: Fuel cell
- Toyota Execs Say Hydrogen Fuel Cells Are Ideal For A Tundra-Sized Pickupon May 7, 2024 at 3:36 pm
Having a hydrogen fuel cell power an electric pickup would allow it to match the range of combustion trucks. Toyota is one of a handful of automakers that believe hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCVs) are the future of zero-emissions transportation ...
- Nikola misses Wall Street's projections, says its 'executing plays' on hydrogen fuel-cell truckson May 7, 2024 at 2:47 pm
Shares of Nikola Corp. slipped after the company reported first quarter earnings that missed Wall Street expectations. Shares of Nikola Corp. dipped on Tuesday following the Phoenix-based electric truck maker’s release of quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street expectations.
- Ram hydrogen fuel-cell truck, BMW EV batteries, rural charging: Today’s Car Newson May 7, 2024 at 8:55 am
EV battery production for BMW is setting up south of the border. Ram aims to scale up its hydrogen fuel-cell muscle. And why do rural governments see EV charging as less important? This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
- Is FuelCell Stock a Buy on Its Toyota Partnership?on May 7, 2024 at 6:42 am
FuelCell Energy (FCEL), the Danbury, Connecticut-based alternative energy company, has recently been in the news due to a new partnership with auto giant Toyota Motor (TM). The companies paired up to announce the first-of-its-kind "Tri-gen" production system at Toyota's Port of Long Beach,
- Cell Impact inks agreement with Japan’s FCCon May 7, 2024 at 12:51 am
Cell Impact has entered into a main agreement with Japanese auto supplier FCC which governs the continued collaboration between the two companies to secure fuel cell flow plates business - primarily in Japan, India, and China. The main agreement leverages ...
- Toyota executives like fuel cell technology for zero-emission pickupson May 1, 2024 at 1:57 pm
LOS ANGELES — A hydrogen fuel cell pickup might make the most sense for a U.S. light vehicle deploying the zero-emission technology, senior Toyota North America R&D executives told Automotive News. Fuel cell technology "offers a great opportunity for ...
via Bing News
