Argentina – Researchers find use for cow hair in batteries
A team of researchers at the Sustainable Energy Laboratory (LAES) of the National University of Córdoba (UNC) has discovered a remarkable use for cow hair - they have successfully created biochar for a small battery. The process involved "cooking" the clean hair twice at 500 and 900 degrees, and adding sulfur. In their tests, the team observed promising electrochemical performance, with no negative effects after 100 charge-discharge cycles.
Further research is necessary to understand how cow hair biochar prevents the formation of unwanted substances during charging. During the charging of a typical lithium-sulfur battery, chemical reactions occur that generate substances (polysulfides) that wear out the capacity.
Argentinian energy industry R&D company Y-TEC, a company of YPF and Conicet, has decided to patent the development in the US.
The next steps are to scale production and create a circular process linking the tannery and battery industries.
