{"276421":{"#nid":"276421","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Solar-Induced Hybrid Fuel Cell Produces Electricity Directly from Biomass","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlthough low temperature fuel cells powered by methanol or hydrogen have been well studied, existing low temperature fuel cell technologies cannot directly use biomass as a fuel because of the lack of an effective catalyst system for polymeric materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new type of low-temperature fuel cell that directly converts biomass to electricity with assistance from a catalyst activated by solar or thermal energy. The hybrid fuel cell can use a wide variety of biomass sources, including starch, cellulose, lignin \u2013 and even switchgrass, powdered wood, algae and waste from poultry processing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe device could be used in small-scale units to provide electricity for developing nations, as well as for larger facilities to provide power where significant quantities of biomass are available.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have developed a new method that can handle the biomass at room temperature, and the type of biomass that can be used is not restricted \u2013 the process can handle nearly any type of biomass,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/faculty\/deng\u0022\u003EYulin Deng\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ipst.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EInstitute of Paper Science and Technology\u003C\/a\u003E (IPST). \u201cThis is a very generic approach to utilizing many kinds of biomass and organic waste to produce electrical power without the need for purification of the starting materials.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new solar-induced direct biomass-to-electricity hybrid fuel cell was described February 7, 2014, in the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature Communications\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe challenge for biomass fuel cells is that the carbon-carbon bonds of the biomass \u2013 a natural polymer \u2013 cannot be easily broken down by conventional catalysts, including expensive precious metals, Deng noted. To overcome that challenge, scientists have developed microbial fuel cells in which microbes or enzymes break down the biomass. But that process has many drawbacks: power output from such cells is limited, microbes or enzymes can only selectively break down certain types of biomass, and the microbial system can be deactivated by many factors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeng and his research team got around those challenges by altering the chemistry to allow an outside energy source to activate the fuel cell\u2019s oxidation-reduction reaction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the new system, the biomass is ground up and mixed with a polyoxometalate (POM) catalyst in solution and then exposed to light from the sun \u2013 or heat. A photochemical and thermochemical catalyst, POM functions as both an oxidation agent and a charge carrier. POM oxidizes the biomass under photo or thermal irradiation, and delivers the charges from the biomass to the fuel cell\u2019s anode. The electrons are then transported to the cathode, where they are finally oxidized by oxygen through an external circuit to produce electricity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you mix the biomass and catalyst at room temperature, they will not react,\u201d said Deng. \u201cBut when you expose them to light or heat, the reaction begins. The POM introduces an intermediate step because biomass cannot be directly accessed by oxygen.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system provides major advantages, including combining the photochemical and solar-thermal biomass degradation in a single chemical process, leading to high solar conversion and effective biomass degradation. It also does not use expensive noble metals as anode catalysts because the fuel oxidation reactions are catalyzed by the POM in solution. Finally, because the POM is chemically stable, the hybrid fuel cell can use unpurified polymeric biomass without concern for poisoning noble metal anodes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe system can use soluble biomass, or organic materials suspended in a liquid. In experiments, the fuel cell operated for as long as 20 hours, indicating that the POM catalyst can be re-used without further treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn their paper, the researchers reported a maximum power density of 0.72 milliwatts per square centimeter, which is nearly 100 times higher than cellulose-based microbial fuel cells, and near that of the best microbial fuel cells. Deng believes the output can be increased five to ten times when the process is optimized.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI believe this type of fuel cell could have an energy output similar to that of methanol fuel cells in the future,\u201d he said. \u201cTo optimize the system, we need to have a better understanding of the chemical processes involved and how to improve them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also need to compare operation of the system with solar energy and other forms of input energy, such as waste heat from other processes. Beyond the ability to directly use biomass as a fuel, the new cell also offers advantages in sustainability \u2013 and potentially lower cost compared to other fuel cell types.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can use sustainable materials without any chemical pollution,\u201d Deng said. \u201cSolar energy and biomass are two important sustainable energy sources available to the world today. Our system would use them together to produce electricity while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Deng, the research team included Wei Liu, Wei Mu, Mengjie Liu, Xiaodan Zhang and Hongli Cai, all from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering or the Institute of Paper Science and Technology at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Wei Liu, et al., \u201cSolar-induced direct biomass-to-electricity hybrid fuel cell using polyoxometalates as photocatalyst and charge carrier,\u201d (Nature Communications, 2014). (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/ncomms4208\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/ncomms4208\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Brett Israel (404-385-1933) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ebrett.israel@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed a new type of low-temperature fuel cell that directly converts biomass to electricity with assistance from a catalyst activated by solar or thermal energy. The hybrid fuel cell can use a wide variety of biomass sources, including starch, cellulose, lignin \u2013 and even switchgrass, powdered wood, algae and waste from poultry processing.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have developed a new type of low-temperature fuel cell that directly converts biomass to electricity with assistance from a catalyst activated by solar or thermal energy."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2014-02-15 20:58:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:51","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"276381":{"id":"276381","type":"image","title":"biomass fuel cell4","body":null,"created":"1449244131","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:48:51","changed":"1475894966","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:26","alt":"biomass fuel 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Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"},{"id":"86571","name":"Yulin Deng"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}