Generation of energy from sugar

GERATION OF ENERGY

FROM SUGAR

GERATION OF ENERGY FROM SUGAR – 32

It took five years of study until the unprecedented result. First, scientists put biological yeast, which we use to make bread, into refined sugar. With fermentation, sugar turns to alcohol. Then the researchers add a little black wire, an electrode with a protein called ADH or alcohol dehydrogenase. It is an enzyme found in the human body and in foods such as tomatoes.

The protein is able to extract electrons, charged particles, from ethanol, thus generating electricity. This process is very fast. In about ten minutes we have electric current.

The Brazilian experience reveals a mystery. For more than 50 years, researchers around the world tried to find out how the protein acted when it came into contact with alcohol. For the first time, scientists at USP São Carlos were able to prove how this chemical reaction is, which transforms sugar into electrical energy.

The research is on the cover of one of the most respected scientific journals in the chemical field in the world. The action of the enzyme to produce energy is not the only discovery.