New findings have overturned a scientific dogma that stood for decades, by showing that potassium can work with graphite in a potassium-ion battery — a discovery that could pose a challenge and more sustainable, less costly alternative to the widely used lithium-ion battery.
adminAn ultra-high-resolution technique used for the first time to study polymer fibers that trap uranium in seawater may cause researchers to rethink the best methods to harvest this potential fuel for nuclear reactors.
Underground heat islands in cities have an enormous geothermal potential. Warm groundwater can be used to produce sustainable energy for heating and cooling. Researchers have now developed a new method to find underground heat islands: They estimate groundwater temperature from surface temperatures and building densities measured by satellites.
adminThe bacterium Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans can take electrons needed for growth directly from an electrode power source when iron—its already known source of energy—is absent, new research shows. The study shows that A. ferrooxidans can use direct uptake of electrons from an electrode to fuel the same metabolic pathway that is activated by the oxidation of diffusible iron ions.
