The Osaka Municipal Technical Research Institute announced on July 1, 2004 that it has developed a method of producing electrodes for fuel cells by carbonizing protein in blood.

This new technology has several advantages in that it can create activated carbon simply by baking, be used to make fuel cell electrodes without platinum, and could be used to convert meat processing waste into useful material. Although the newly developed electrode can only be used for positive terminals, the Institute claims that it can be produced for only one-tenth of what conventional electrodes that mainly use platinum cost. The Institute believes that the cost of fuel cells can be brought down if the blood of slaughtered beef cattle, etc., presently disposed of by meat processors, is made available.

Fuel cells generate electricity by means of a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen. Platinum is used in electrodes that exchange electrons. However, because platinum mineral deposits are limited, the development of alternative materials for electrodes has been pursued. The Institute found that baking iron-containing proteins in blood such as hemoglobin at 800 degrees Celsius produces activated carbon that works as a catalyst for the chemical reaction and thus is suitable for use in positive terminal. The properties of this activated carbon, however, do not permit its use for negative terminals.

The activated carbon used in electrodes is not as efficient or durable as platinum, but the Institute believes it can be enhanced by adding catalytic metals, etc.


Posted: 2004/10/25 03:30:34 PM
Japanese version

TAG Energy , Material reduction , Technology , University/Research institute