Not only can mushrooms make art galleries and Laser Floyd a lot more fun, a certain enzyme that comes from a fungi found on rotting wood could be used in fuel cells and batteries.Fuel cells produce electricity through a chemical reaction that currently requires a metal to act as a catalyst and speed up the process. Problem is, these metals are hard to get, polluting to extract and, most importantly, quickly running out. TheBritish Geological Survey has said that zinc, which is a necessary ingredient for a lot of batteries, could run out by 2037.
The enzyme, called laccase, has been as effective as platinum in doing the whole catalyst thing. The benefits of switching from metals to something we can grow is obvious, especially because western countries currently use about 3 billion batteries a year - a number that will only continue to grow.
Before you get excited about mushroom-powered iPods, there's still a lot of work to be done. The UK Energy Research Centre has said that a commercially viable use of this technology won't be seen until around 2030.
No comments:
Post a Comment