Scientists have found a way to produce lithium-ion batteries from beer

This method can produce cheaper and more efficient electrodes.

Beer and science are not the only two that go together, but scientists at the University of Colorado-Boulder (UCB) have found ways to use brewing waste to synthesize substances. Chemistry to create lithium-ion batteries .

Picture 1 of Scientists have found a way to produce lithium-ion batteries from beer
Researchers in Colorado have found a way to use waste water from brewing to create lithium ion batteries.

It takes up to seven jars of water to cook a jar of beer, and it costs a lot of money to filter waste from the process. Some biological materials such as wood can also be used to make carbon electrodes, but the supply of these doses is very limited and the method of implementation is difficult and expensive.

But by exploiting the raw materials in brewing water, researchers at UCB say they can better control chemical reactions to produce high-efficiency electrodes, while purifying water. waste.

Picture 2 of Scientists have found a way to produce lithium-ion batteries from beer
By exploiting the raw materials in brewing water, researchers at UCB say they can both control better chemical reactions to produce high-efficiency electrodes, while purifying sewage. .

This method of producing the electrode involves cultivating a fast-growing mold called Neurospora crassa in a sugar-rich environment, present in brewing waste water.

"Brewing water is the ideal environment for this mold, " says Tyler Huggins, a graduate student at UCB and the author of the study. Huggins and UCB co-author Justin Whiteley said they hoped the method would be commercialized. "We see the potential for large-scale application of this method because the necessary materials are available."

This research was published in the week of Applied Materials and Interfaces.