Cows Might Be Alternative Energy Sources
Posted on: Thursday, 23 August 2007, 12:13 CDT
U.S. scientists say cows might one day help meet the rise in demand for alternative energy sources.
Ohio State University researchers used microbe-rich fluid from cows to generate electricity in a new, small cellulose-based microbial fuel cell.
Doctoral student Hamid Rismani-Yazdi, lead author of the study, said experiments showed it took two of the new cells to produce enough electricity to recharge an AA-sized battery. That power was produced from the breakdown of cellulose by a variety of bacteria in rumen fluid -- the microbe-rich fluid found in a cow's rumen, the largest chamber of a cow's stomach.
To create power, researchers fill a microbial fuel cell with cellulose and rumen fluid.
Energy is produced as the bacteria break down cellulose, which is one of the most abundant resources on our planet, said Rismani-Yazdi.
The research -- led by Professors Olli Tuovinen and Ann Christy -- was reported this week in Boston during a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Source: United Press International
Related Articles
- Cellulose Microfibers Could Help Prove Alien Life
- View Leading Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) Producers Worldwide With This Global Strategic Business Report
- Technologies in Waste Treatment of Metalworking Fluids
- Age-Old Advice on Fluids for Colds Disputed
- Determining the Surface Free Energy of Cellulose Materials with the Powder Contact Angle Method
- Expeditious identification and quantification of mycobacteria species in metalworking fluids using peptide nucleic acid probes
- Brain-Damaged Fla. Woman Receiving Fluids
- Structural characteristics of new and conventional regenerated cellulosic fibers
- Probe Reveals al-Qaida's Fluid Planning
- Low Level of Amniotic Fluid No Reason to Induce Labor
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds