Fuelling the future with agricultural waste

Ann Christy, associate professor of food, agriculture and biological engineering at Ohio State University, has been conducting new research into the use of cow waste to produce energy.

According to Ms Christy's research, the bacteria in cow dung release electrons during the digestion on cellulose - "in the form of undigested plant matter in the cows' waste", Principal Voices Reports.

Ms Christy's team of scientific researchers have so far succeeded in producing half of the power required to energise an AA battery.

"While that's a very small amount of voltage, the results show that it is possible to create electricity from cow waste," she commented.

A team of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have also created waste-powered fuel cells.

The MIT BioVolt cells are capable of running on plant waste and can generate electricity for household use in off-grid areas and developing countries.


http://principalvoices.coml
http://dmse.mit.edu/madmec/biovolt.html




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