Upcycled chicken feathers could hold the key to new bio-based membranes for high performance hydrogen fuel cells.
The looming chicken feather crisis is finally getting some attention from science, as researchers explore ways to mine wads of fouled, wet, waste feathers for valuable keratin protein. In one of the latest developments, a team from ETH Zurich and Nanyang Technological University Singapore Fans has applied a tailored form of keratin to make bio-based membranes for zero emission hydrogen fuel cells.
As explained by our friend over at the US National Institutes of Health, amyloid fibrils are associated with Mad Cow disease, among others. However, they also have a secret superpower.That explains why the new bio-based membrane from chicken feathers is at home in the rough and tumble world of hydrogen fuel cells.through a reaction between hydrogen and ambient oxygen, shepherded by a catalyst. The membrane in a fuel cell plays a central role and it had better be up to snuff.
The researchers set a goal of meeting Energy Department benchmarks for cost and capacity. Chicken feathers were a good bet, partly because the use of a bio-based material could help resolve costs that bedevil other materials, including end-of-life disposal costs., various kinds of nano-structured materials have been investigated and produced, none of which could fulfill these targets entirely,” the team observed. “Their disposal methods and degradability are still a big question mark.
The US Department of Agriculture has been looking for a solution to the chicken feather crisis at least as far back as 2000, when it assessed an effort to upcycle feathers for everything from filters and diapers to insulation and upholstery padding.from chicken feathers. Chicken feathers are a significant source of nitrogen as well as keratin, the idea being to compost the pots at the end of their lifespan.
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