tomato-electricityA group of scientists from the United States has developed a biological fuel cell made from tomato remains.

The group of researchers from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology They have found a way to treat problematic waste and turn it into something useful: electricity.

In the study that has been carried out, Tomato waste has proven to be effective in producing fuel cells that provide clean energy and environmentally friendly. In particular, have used tomatoes that were no longer in suitable conditions to be consumed as food to manufacture biological or microbial electrochemical cells.

The investigators developed a special microbial fuel cell to process waste and transform it into electricity. It uses bacteria to break down the organic matter in the tomato waste that, by oxidizing them, generates an electrical charge. The process also neutralizes waste so that it no longer emits greenhouse gases..

[quote]The oxidation process releases electrons, which are then captured in the fuel cell and become a source of electricity.[/quote]

The tomato is especially interesting for manufacturing this type of biological battery because has lycopene, a carotene and antioxidant pigment, which has proven to be an excellent mediator to promote the generation of electrical charges.

The prototype of biological fuel cell that they have manufactured at the moment is small: has the capacity to 10 milligrams of tomatoes and produces 0,3 watts of energy. So, would be necessary 200 cells to light a light bulb 60 W. However, Scientists assure that the technology is perfectly scalable and its power and magnitude could be increased.

“My hope for this kind of thing is that it can be used in rural areas where there is a large amount of agricultural waste and where an energy source is not necessarily available, especially in the developing world”, said Alexander Fogg, who started the project.

The research is currently being led by Namita Shrestha and other scientists under the direction of Professor Venkataramana Gadhamshetty. The entire process is completed in a matter of a couple of weeks, and Energy production from tomatoes starts to run out after 10 to 14 days.

This is a possibly expensive way of processing waste, but electricity generation would make it more economically viable. That combination could be attractive to cities, who normally bear the responsibility of processing agricultural waste.

This type of approach also could work for other types of waste of food products, But researchers found that tomatoes contain some micronutrients that make them especially effective.

The 400.000 tons per year of tomato waste produced in Florida, could generate enough electricity to supply Disney World for 90 days, according to the researcher's calculations.

Turning agricultural food waste into an energy source probably won't reach the scale of something like solar or wind power.. But when solving two problems at once, has the potential to find a niche in the next decade.

At the end of the process there is still tomato. Waste looks the same to the naked eye, but they have changed fundamentally. The chemical components of the tomato pieces have been decomposed and treated, which means avoiding more greenhouse gas emissions.

It's just a harmless red sludge that may have helped light a light bulb somewhere..