1. Green Ideas #15:
Quando le auto elettriche
andranno a gusci d’uovo
“Ideario” per un futuro
sostenibile…

2. Uno dei problemi delle auto elettriche è la capacità di ricarica:
senza condensatori sufficientemente efficienti, “fare il pieno” è
un’operazione lunga e logisticamente impegnativa.
Sembra che gli scienziati abbiano trovato una soluzione: i gusci
d’uovo. La loro microstruttura li renderebbe, dopo una tostatura a
800 gradi, perfetti condensatori. Per fare un esempio: con un
condensatore a gusci, un cellulare si ricaricherebbe da zero in 45
secondi. Resta solo da capire come integrarli nelle batterie.
(segue articolo originale in lingua inglese)

3. The Electric Car Of The Future Will Be Powered By Eggshells
It’s a question that’s puzzled electric car makers for decades--how do you
effectively store enough electrical energy that will power them over long
distances?
Turns out, it might be as simple as making an omelet.
Batteries store the bulk of the electrical energy that powers electric vehicles
today, but they’re limited by how quickly they wear out.
Batteries are helped along by capacitors--electrical devices that charge up
and drain quickly and can be recharged over and over again, but hold
comparatively much less charge.
So for some years now, the hunt’s been on for an ideal crossbreed of batteries
and capacitors--an electrical device that will store a lot of charge, like a deep
bowl of soup, but is also swift to fill up and drain.
Scientists found it--they just had to break a few eggs.

4. That’s because, it turns out, chicken eggshells may offer a solution.
A group of Canadian scientists have tested and shown that the membranes
from eggshells, toasted to 800 degrees, make for surprisingly efficient
supercapacitors that could one day be used in electric vehicles, maybe even
in cell phone and laptops.
"What we were able to achieve is [a capacitor] that looks a lot more battery-
esque," said David Mitlin, the lead on the eggs-periment. "What we showed is
our material can hold three times as much charge as activated carbon but
last just as long."
That’s three to four times as much charge as a commercial electrode.
And, unlike expensive carbon nanotubes and graphene sheets that are also
being turned into capacitors, eggshells are usually thrown away as trash.
"People will actually pay us to take them away." Mitlin says.
It has to do with the atomic and microstructure of the heated eggshell
membranes. The membrane’s chock full of nitrogen groups which can soak up
and store extra charge. Plus, the interconnected mesh of carbon fibers make
for a great conducting highway, letting the charge flow in and out of the
capacitor rapidly.

5. Oddly enough, other chicken bits have been found to be suited to the task of
energy storage.
A little over years ago, scientists at the University of Delaware discovered that
roasted chicken feathers made great hydrogen storage materials for fuel
cells, again, because of their unique porous micro architecture.
Mitlin’s group has plans to develop their discovery towards commercial
application. After all, high storage capacitors in our electronics could make a
world of difference to our daily lives.
"If your cell phone ran on a capacitor you could charge it in 45 seconds," Mitlin
says.
Just make sure your capacitor is cage free.
Fonti: Italic News e Co.Exist

6. E’ un’iniziativa
www.aurive.it