{"355571":{"#nid":"355571","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Flip the Switchgrass","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlthough fuel cells powered by methanol or hydrogen have been well studied, existing low temperature fuel cell technologies cannot directly use biomass because of the lack of an effective catalyst system for polymeric materials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, 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. The hybrid fuel cell can use a wide variety of biomass sources, including cellulose, lignin \u2013 and even switchgrass, powdered wood, algae, and waste from poultry processing. The 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,\u201d said Yulin Deng, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Renewable Bioproducts Institute. \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 challenge for biomass fuel cells is that the polymer chains in the biomass cannot be easily broken down by conventional catalysts. To overcome that challenge, scientists have developed microbial fuel cells in which microbes or enzymes break down the biomass. But that process has drawbacks: Power output is limited, microbes or enzymes can selectively break down only certain types of biomass, and the microbial system can be deactivated by many factors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDeng and his research team overcame those challenges by altering the chemistry to allow an outside energy source to activate the fuel cells\u2019 oxidation-reduction reaction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work has been described in the journals Nature Communications and Angewandte Chemie International Edition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/front-office\/flip-switchgrass\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThis article originally appeared in \u003Cem\u003EResearch Horizons\u003C\/em\u003E, Issue 3, 2014.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022intro-text\u0022\u003EAlthough fuel cells powered by methanol or hydrogen have been well studied, existing low temperature fuel cell technologies cannot directly use biomass because of the lack of an effective catalyst system for polymeric materials.\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":"27469","created_gmt":"2014-12-15 11:24:50","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:41","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-12-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-12-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"355581":{"id":"355581","type":"image","title":"Flip the Switchgrass","body":null,"created":"1449245756","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:15:56","changed":"1475895087","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:27","alt":"Flip the Switchgrass","file":{"fid":"201344","name":"switchgrass.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/switchgrass_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/switchgrass_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":490997,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/switchgrass_0.jpg?itok=B7uPskB2"}}},"media_ids":["355581"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/front-office\/flip-switchgrass","title":"Flip the Switchgrass in Research Horizons"}],"groups":[{"id":"1316","name":"Green Buzz"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"1850","name":"alternative energy"},{"id":"2044","name":"Fuel Cell"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:john.toon@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}