Deidra Campbell
10/05/09
12:27p
It may not be good for our bodies, but there seems to be some good use for sugar. Sugar has turned out to be a good idea for the advancement of technology. It has turned out that coupled with a tablespoon of herbicide the sugar breaks down to become a potential energy source. Researchers at BYU have created fuel cell that harvests electricity from glucose and carbohydrates. The researchers worked endlessly to find a substance that would draw out the electrons from the glucose and transfer to an electrode. Fuel cells are generally uses platinum as a catalyst, which is extremely costly. However, the weed killer is very cost effective. The researchers are now trying to move the development to a place where the discovery could be marketed commercially. They will continute to make design improvements that will continue to move this discovery into it s next phase.
This is a great idea overall. Especially when there is the potential of using fuel cells at a cheaper costs as opposed to platinum. My only concern would be that of the airborn environmental impacts that this herbicide would cause when exposed to the elements on its own, as well as when it is coupled with sugar. Only time will tell where this development will take us.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090929132503.htm#
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