Investigation of Green Energy in the Process of Fermentation

Overview

Energy is vital in providing heat and electricity for the world, but often, its waste byproducts harm the environment. Hence, green energy is long sought for because it is generated through a natural cycle in ecosystems. The energy yield of dough fermentation was tested to see whether it could be converted into a substantial source of green energy, as a potential alternative to chemical batteries. The temperature of leavened and unleavened dough was recorded over the span of three and a half hours to quantify the heat produced during this reaction. After improving the experimental design multiple times, the results showed a significant temperature difference, which was directly proportional to the heat produced from the leavened dough through fermentation. The average power of the heat was measured to be about 2.2 kJ/h, thereby indicating that 900 grams of a leavened dough would produce a similar amount of power to a 1.5 volt AAA battery supplying a current of 1.0 amp. However, an AAA battery supplying a current at that rate would become discharged in less than an hour, while the dough could easily supply that power for more than three and a half hours. To disseminate the use of leavened dough as a green energy battery, a thermoelectric generator of high efficiency would be required to convert the heat into electricity in order to harness this energy. Also, further studies would need to be conducted to increase the efficiency, portability, and convenience of extracting energy from a leavened dough.

Competition history

• JSHS 2020 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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