2023-10-20 21:27:00
The main purpose of chicken feathers is to keep them warm. But they could be the key to creating sustainable fuel cells capable of running in vehicles. And all this without emitting carbon dioxide, also known as carbon dioxide (CO2).
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Scientists have discovered a way to convert chicken feathers into a sustainable material to build fuel cells without producing waste; The keratin protein in the feathers has been processed into amyloid fibrils, creating a thin membrane capable of conducting protons, essential elements for fuel cells; keratin-based membrane is environmentally friendly and does not use toxic chemicals found in conventional fuel cell production; Additionally, the abundance of chicken feather waste in the poultry industry makes the membrane up to three times cheaper to produce compared to traditional membranes;The study involved researchers from Nanyang Technological University in China and the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in Switzerland.
That’s because scientists have found a way to convert chicken feathers into a clean, sustainable material to build fuel cells without generating waste.
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The study involved researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), in China, and the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland. The research was published by NTU.
Fuel with chicken feathers
From left to right: Professor Ali Miserez from NTU’s School of Materials Science and Engineering and School of Biological Sciences and NTU PhD student Soon Wei Long (Image: Nanyang Technological University)
By extracting the protein keratin from feathers and processing it into amyloid fibrils, researchers created a thin membrane capable of conducting protons – vital components of fuel cells.
The researchers tested their feather-based membrane by mounting it on a commercial fuel cell array. In its tests, the fuel cell was able to light an LED lamp, spin a small fan and power a toy car.
Conventional production of such membranes in fuel cells uses toxic chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals.” They are expensive and do not degrade in the environment.
The keratin-based membrane developed by the NTU and ETH team is environmentally friendly, as it is composed of biological material and created in a sustainable process that does not emit carbon dioxide.
Furthermore, the large amount of industrial chicken feather waste produced by the poultry industry means that laboratory-made membrane can be up to three times cheaper than conventional membranes to produce.
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