From stillage to storage: Researchers turn bourbon byproducts into supercapacitors

Distillery waste powers supercapacitors with 25x the energy of commercial devices

27-Mar-2026 - The state of Kentucky produces 95% of the world’s bourbon, and all that bourbon leaves behind an enormous amount of waste grain, called stillage. Now, researchers at the University of Kentucky have developed a process to transform that stillage into electrodes. With the bourbon byproduct ...

Scientists convert chicken fat into energy storage devices

Cost-effective method for converting waste chicken fat into electrically conductive nanostructures

14-May-2024 - The global move toward more sustainable, green energy has increased power reserves and the demand for energy storage devices. Unfortunately, some materials for these devices can be expensive and environmentally problematic. Producing alternative energy storage devices from things that are usually ...

Producing ‘green’ energy — literally — from living plant ‘bio-solar cells’

Scientists have turned to photosynthesis to generate current

15-Dec-2022 - Though plants can serve as a source of food, oxygen and décor, they’re not often considered to be a good source of electricity. But by collecting electrons naturally transported within plant cells, scientists can generate electricity as part of a “green,” biological solar cell. Now, researchers ...

Future smart homes could be powered with electronics built on stones

Stone microenergy devices could provide high-performance, customizable and conveniently accessible power from natural building materials

13-Jul-2022 - What if you could power the smart thermostats, speakers and lights in your home with a kitchen countertop? Stones, such as marble and granite, are natural, eco-friendly materials that many people building or renovating houses already use. Now, in a step toward integrating energy storage with ...

Lithium-ion batteries that last longer in extreme cold

A lithium-ion battery made with a bumpy carbon-based anode material maintained its rechargeable storage capacity in extreme cold

13-Jun-2022 - When temperatures fall below freezing, cellphones need to be recharged frequently, and electric cars have shorter driving ranges. This is because their lithium-ion batteries’ anodes get sluggish, holding less charge and draining energy quickly. To improve electrical performance in the extreme ...

Nanowires could make lithium ion batteries safer

26-Apr-2018 - From cell phones and laptops to electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries are the power source that fuels everyday life. But in recent years, they have also drawn attention for catching fire. In an effort to develop a safer battery, scientists report that the addition of nanowires can not only ...

In the wake of high-profile battery fires, a safer approach emerges

16-May-2014 - As news reports of lithium-ion battery (LIB) fires in Boeing Dreamliner planes and Tesla electric cars remind us, these batteries — which are in everyday portable devices, like tablets and smartphones — have their downsides. Now, scientists have designed a safer kind of lithium battery component ...

A battery that 'breathes'

18-Mar-2014 - Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) nearly doubled in 2013, but most won't take you farther than 100 miles on one charge. To boost their range toward a tantalizing 300 miles or more, researchers are reporting new progress on a "breathing" battery that has the potential to one day replace the ...

Turning waste into power with bacteria — and loofahs

06-Dec-2013 - Loofahs, best known for their use in exfoliating skin to soft, radiant perfection, have emerged as a new potential tool to advance sustainability efforts on two fronts at the same time: energy and waste. The study describes the pairing of loofahs with bacteria to create a power-generating ...

Producing hydrogen from water with carbon/charcoal powder

03-Sep-2013 - In the latest advance in efforts to find an inexpensive way to make hydrogen from ordinary water — one of the keys to the much-discussed "hydrogen economy" — scientists are reporting that powder from high-grade charcoal and other forms of carbon can free hydrogen from water illuminated with laser ...