Why in news?
These fuel cells installed in a London zoo have generated botanical selfie for the first time ever.
What is this?
- A device that converts chemical energy to electrical energy by the action of microorganisms.
The process
- The plants produce sugar and oxygen from water and CO2 (photosynthesis) under sunlight
- These sugars do not remain in the leaves, but are transported throughout the plant to the stem and roots.
- Some of these sugars are excreted by the roots as a waste product from the plant.
Soil microorganisms break this down further, releasing energy.
This energy is captured using an anode (minus) and a cathode (plus) and charge a supercapacitor.
When the supercapacitor is full, the power is discharged and a photo is taken. - Unlike solar panels, plants may thrive in the shade, shifting naturally in place to optimize the absorbing capacity of sunlight.
