首页
登录
职称英语
It may seem ridiculous, but in the hunt for sources of alternative energy re
It may seem ridiculous, but in the hunt for sources of alternative energy re
游客
2024-04-21
40
管理
问题
It may seem ridiculous, but in the hunt for sources of alternative energy researchers have come up with fuel cells which are powered by cheese—or at least whey, a by-product in cheese making. Whey is rich in lactose, a sugar which Georgia Antonopoulou, a biochemical engineer at the University of Patras, Greece, says can be consumed by cultures of bacteria contained within a fuel cell to generate an electric current. Microbial fuel cells, as such devices are known, are not a new idea but they are attracting more attention.
The organic contents of whey pose an environmental hazard and many governments now impose strict regulations requiring factories to pay for its treatment before disposal. Whey constitutes about 70% of the volume of the milk were used to make cheese. So, just one small feta facility will need to dispose of as such as 4,000 tonnes of whey in a single year, says Dr Antonopoulou. Microbial fuel cells could help, and not just in the cheese-making industry. Breweries, pig farms, food-processing plants and even sewage works could gain from the technology.
Traditional fuel cells work by using a catalytic material to oxidize a fuel, such as hydrogen, and make an electric current flow between two electrodes. Microbial fuel cells function in much the same way except that the catalytic reactions are carried out by bacteria contained within the fuel-cell chamber. Under anaerobic conditions(where oxygen is absent), metabolising the fuel by feeding off it and in doing so produce natural chemical reactions that produce a current.
In theory microbial fuel cells can run on almost any kind of organic matters, says Chris Melhuish, head of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, England. "All you have to do is match the microbial culture with the type of stuff you want to use as fuel," he says. Dr Melhuish has been trying to power robots on domestic waste-water, but it is tricky. Ideally you would want to use cheap raw-waste products, he says. But traditionally the fuel cells work best with a refined fuel in the form of solutions containing synthetic sugars, such as glucose.
However, Dr Antonopoulou has now shown that, using a culture of bacteria obtained from her local waste-water plant, it is possible to get almost as much power from raw whey as from refined fuel, provided the whey is diluted. The trouble is the power output still only amounts to milliwatts, barely enough to trickle-charge a cellphone. And working with raw waste water also presents challenges.
Initially Dr Antonopoulou and her colleagues found that the coulombic efficiency of their cells-a measure of how many electrons produced actually flow into a circuit-was particularly low, at around just 2%. This turned out to be because a second set of microbes, within the whey itself, was absorbing them. So, by sterilizing the whey first to kill these other bugs they have now boosted the coulombic efficiency to around 25%. [br] What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
选项
A、Fuel cells can be powered by cheese.
B、Lactose rich in whey can generate an electric current
C、Fuel cells can be powered by cheese for whey in it.
D、The idea that fuel cells can be powered by cheese may seem ridiculous.
答案
C
解析
主旨题。文章开头提到依靠奶酪驱动燃料电池,接着讲到其原理是奶酪生产中的副产品乳清中的乳糖可以变身电流,因而,第,一段的主要观点是:奶酪中的乳清可以为燃料电池提供驱动。C项正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3565107.html
相关试题推荐
Itmayseemridiculous,butinthehuntforsourcesofalternativeenergyre
Itmayseemridiculous,butinthehuntforsourcesofalternativeenergyre
Acupuncture(针灸)isbasedontheideathatenergyflowsthroughthehumanbo
Acupuncture(针灸)isbasedontheideathatenergyflowsthroughthehumanbo
Acupuncture(针灸)isbasedontheideathatenergyflowsthroughthehumanbo
Acupuncture(针灸)isbasedontheideathatenergyflowsthroughthehumanbo
Riceislow-fatandhighinenergy,andyoucanmixitwithjustaboutanyth
Riceislow-fatandhighinenergy,andyoucanmixitwithjustaboutanyth
Riceislow-fatandhighinenergy,andyoucanmixitwithjustaboutanyth
Riceislow-fatandhighinenergy,andyoucanmixitwithjustaboutanyth
随机试题
Kaganmaintainsthataninfant’sreactionstoitsfirststressfulexperiencesar
Whatisthemostimportantfunctionoftrees?[br][originaltext]Treesare
学位是标志被授予者的受教育程度和学术水平达到规定标准的学术称号,也俗称学历。(
世界贸易组织《政府采购协议》遵循()。A.公开原则 B.透明度原则 C.国
下列关于国际税收合作的说法,正确的有()。A、保险公司之间的补偿再保险合同无需开
下列物质的化学本质一定为蛋白质的是()。A.酶 B.抗体 C.激素
下列属于脾病虚证基础证型的是A.脾气下陷证B.脾气虚证C.脾阴虚证D.脾不统血证
瑞翔网络(集团)发展有限公司是国内知名的互动娱乐传媒公司。该集团公司成立于19
填写发票应当使用中文,外商投资企业和外资企业可以同时使用一种外国文字。
银行承兑汇票的承兑银行,应当按照票面金额向出票人收取()的手续费。A:千分之一
最新回复
(
0
)