13 Unexpected Sources of Energy that Could Save the World

If humans are depart to keep living in the style to which we ’re accustomed , we need to get alternatives for fossil fuels . part that ’s because we postulate to reduce pollution — and partly because those fossil fuel are going to pass out . But substitute figure of DOE may look a lot weirder than you guess .

1. Tobacco Leaves

Most masses have heard about turning corn into biofuel . But clavus is in reality a abominable biofuel beginning for a number of ground , which is why many scientist are look to other plant for succeeding fuel — including tobacco . Genetically modify tobacco , that is . The primary construction blocks for biofuel in plant are starch and dinero , so course , increasing the amount of starches and sugar in a plant will improve fuel output . An agricultural railroad engineer recently foundthat she could tweak a gene in tobacco to advance starch production by 700 % , which translated to an increased sugar yield ( a step in biofuel production ) of 500 % . As a bonus , this technique could be used on food crops to increase starch and sugar production .

2. Sugar Batteries

Current battery engineering swear on toxic metal , which are difficult to mine , have throttle lifespan , and create recycling and garbage disposal offspring . Sugar , on the other script , has none of those problems . latterly , a group of bioengineers construct a prototype of an “ enzymaticfuel cell ” that copy the behavior of biological systems ( like plants ) that convert glucose to vigor . The resulting stamp battery creates more energy than a Li - ion battery , is biodegradable , and refillable .

pic of Jathropha curcas byImmersia

3. Jatropha curcas

This plant produces oil - rich seeds which are excellent for biodiesel , and it is able to thrive in dry , arenaceous lands that are n’t good for food production . That means the plant could be grown in areas that are n’t required for intellectual nourishment crops . Unfortunately , the plant ’s seeds do n’t thrive as easily as the flora do in poor filth . Now , scientists are working on slipway to genetically modify this cropin a number of ways make it more suitable for biodiesel output . The result could be a hardy crop that can live almost anywhere , and make incredible amounts of fuel .

4. Algae Machines

Unlike Jatropha curcas , which is a plant that might one day be a source of fuel , microalgae are pretty much fuel - ready . They farm in the ocean , and thus do n’t compete with food crop . Plus , they produce more starch and sugar than the blue - green algae known as cyanobacteria , which are also being explored as a seed of alternative energy . The problem ? It ’s hard to get a jumbo harvest of microalgae . Currently , researchers are looking at ways to genetically modify this microalgaeto make it a more full-bodied fuel root .

If that is n’t futuristic enough for you , researchers are also integrating genetic “ circuits ” into bacterium and alga to produce biofuels from photosynthesis . basically , they ’d add newfangled molecular machinery to bacteria and algae that do n’t already have them . There are even proposalsto engineer the genuine light - absorbing antenna in these organisms to increase efficiency and biofuel output . This would imply genetically spay the organization that these microorganisms use to take in Inner Light — we would n’t actually be supply lilliputian metal antennae to them , though that would be coolheaded .

5. Super Yeast

Conversion of plant fabric to fuel is n’t always effective , particularly because that plant material is often waste left over from forestry and Agriculture Department . However , life scientist Na Wei and colleagueshave let on that they can genetically modify a physical body of yeast to digest the rugged , fibrous xylose in works . Normally this part of the plant goes fresh , as it create a toxic , acidic environment for the microbes that would ordinarily ruin it down into those much - needed sugar . But the enhanced yeast are able to digest xylose into the chemical components that could make biofuel . This super - barm could assist us change plant waste into worthful energy .

6. Corny Switchgrass

Switchgrass is a controversial biofuel harvest . It is tight growing , produces a lot of cloth for fuel yield , but is also invasive , assume over new kingdom where it is infix . Still , it might one Clarence Shepard Day Jr. prove very useful — especially if we append a few passing useful genes to its repertory . A group of life scientist found that by genetically modifying switchgrass with a factor from corn , they could boost the amount of amylum and digestibility of the switchgrass ( make it easy and more productive to exchange to fuel ) , and completely shut down the flowering of the plant , potentially preventing invasion .

7. Artificial Photosynthesis

research worker at Caltech and Lawrence Berkeley National Labare researching what they call“artificial photosynthesis . ”Their end is to produce a synthetical version of the molecular machinery that implant utilize to make energy from brightness level and piss . The result would be something that looks like a solar panel inside a credit card chassis — it ’s made of thin tissue layer tabloid comprise of semiconductor unit materials . By pump water through the machine , and bombarding it with igniter , we could create liquid hydrogen or hydrocarbons . This solves the typical problem with solar vigor , which is storage . Because this solar fuel would be liquid , we could habituate our current fuel computer memory infrastructure to have and disseminate it the same way we do with crude oil and throttle .

8. Immortal Redox Batteries

These are often called redox flow batteries , and they areintended for consumption in cars and other transit vehicle . fundamentally they are battery that can be recharged forever because their energy is put in in the electrolyte solution rather than in the electrode like in a Li - ion battery . Just exchange the electrolyte solvent to recharge . you could see a simple schematic for one case of redox menses battery above . These are more like fuel cells than batteries , but they run on two-sided electrochemical reactions rather than consuming fuel .

9. Semi-Solid Sewage

Yep , we ’re going to apply poop . Conventional source of biodiesels like veg petroleum must be grown and process before they can be used , which makes them a more expensive origin than sewerage barren . “ Sludge ” is the mass of semi - solid that is separated out from piddle as part of the sewerage treatment process . It can be used to make biofuels using a brace of different methods . One of the most popular is sludge gasification , where the sludge is dried and heat to produce a celluloid accelerator pedal that can be burned . However , scientists in South Korea have created a operation that heats the lipids inside the sludgeto interpret them into biodiesel . Sludge was heated in a nuclear reactor along with methanol and carbon dioxide to convert 98 % of the sludge lipids into biodiesel . This new process could lead to punk biodiesel due to the immense amounts of gunk work on by wastewater treatment plant , but it would require these facility to retrofit existing bodily structure to lodge the biofuel output process on site .

In related to dirt fuel news , we canalso become used diapers into fuel as well .

10. Urine Fuel Cells

Urine - powered fuel mobile phone are actually a type of microbic fuel cell technology , where we harvest the energy released by microorganism as they soften down their solid food . It turns out that human pee is a terrific source of food for those microorganism . Urine - fed microbial fuel cell are presently being developed as a potential vim source for everything from personal electronics toself - sufficient robots . In the hereafter , it could be a way to help process the huge amounts of waste humans produce each year . Plus , it gives a raw meaning to those piss - processing still suits that the Fremen wear in Dune .

11. Hydrochar and Biochar

Hydrothermal carbonization ( HTC ) is a process where biomass — anything from plant textile to garbage — is mixed with water and expose to heat and pressure level in a nuclear reactor . The resulting slurry is then urge and dried to createhydrochar . When no water is used , the result are calledbiochar . Both are coal - similar products that can be burned for Energy Department or further processed to produce synthetical accelerator . The potential behind hydrochar is that it apply wet biomass . Biomass feedstocks that must be dried before they are burn off or processed take spare energy to create , but the hope is that hydrothermal carbonisation can be used to take advantage of biomass waste material without call for preparation workplace . The European Union launched its “ NEWAPP ” project December 2013 and will run for 30 month with eight partners from four EU nation . Its goal is to canvas wet biomass waste stream and identify possible HTC applications .

http://io9.com/one-of-those-rare-moments-when-a-small-thing-gives-you-472733410/all

12. Space-based solar power

prominent - shell satellites stock lightweight solar panelsmay soon be launched into space . This would permit us to overcome the effects of the atmosphere on how much sun that solar panels can actually absorb . essentially , in space , we ’d have access to sore , naked solar energy . The generated electricity could be beam to earthwith a microwave oven sender .

13. Alligator Fat

Perhaps it ’s not surprising that chemists from Louisiana came up with theidea of using alligator fat as a rootage of biodiesel . Alligator fat has a very high lipid content , which imply it ’s idealistic for rebirth to biodiesel . Plus , the alligator essence industry produces a ton of the blubber as waste material , so this would be a direction to use a merchandise that is currently being thrown away . Other kinds of fats could be used in a similar way .

extra reportage by Robert Coridan , Rachel Mitchell , and Jenna Lewein

Annalee Newitz is the editor - in - tribal chief of io9 , and the author ofScatter , Adapt and Remember : How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction .