Could Chicken Feathers Be The Salvation Of Hydrogen?

Unless you are a vegetarian, you probably agree that chicken is delicious. But could this fowl have a future in automobiles? According to a presentation made at the 13th Annual Green Chemical and Engineering Conference this weekend…maybe. It seems that carbonized chicken feathers can hold hydrogen quite well; better than carbon nanotubes or metal hydrides currently being tested as hydrogen carriers. Could this solve the infrastructure problems currently holding hydrogen technology back?

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The concept was presented by University of Deleware Engineering graduate student Erman Senoz. It works like this; chicken feathers are made up of a natural protein called keratin. This forms hard, hollow tubes (if you’ve ever plucked a feather, you know what I’m talking about) that when heated creates crosslinks. This in turn strengthens the structure, becomes more porus, and increases the surface area. These carbonized feather-tubes can hold as much, if not more than the much-more expensive carbon nanotubes or metal hydrirdes.

According to the Happy News article, a 20 gallon nanotube tank would cost upwards of $5.5 million, and a similar sized metal hydride tank in the area of $30,000. Chicken feathers are abundent and cheap, and Professor Richard P. Wool estimates it would add just $200 to the price of a car. Where he got those numbers, I’m not sure, but right now I am about ready to believe anything. First pee-power, now chicken feathers? You’ve got to admire the ingenuity of some of these alternative fuel mavericks.

Wool also estimates that a 75 gallon tank full of hydrogen and carbonized chicken feathers could currently travel about 300 miles, but they are working to improve that range. That is only 4 miles per gallon, but hey, its hydrogen, the most abundent resource in the universe. It’s a start if anything.

Hydrogen gas takes up about 40 times as much room as petrol, and as a liquid it needs to be kept very cold, resulting in high pressure tanks (10,000 psi sometimes). This means that while we have the technology to utilize hydrogen as a propellent, it is difficult to transport. It currently takes about 20 gallons of hydrogen gas to go a single mile. But perhaps chicken feathers can change all that? Will there come a time when we will say “Mm, my fuel tastes like chicken…”

Source: Happy News

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