http://techxplore.com/news/2015-10-scientists-algal-blooms-high-performance-battery.htmlLast August, the seasonal harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Lake Erie grew so extreme that they poisoned the water system in Toledo, Ohio, leaving nearly half a million residents without drinking water. But a few researchers at the time collected some of the toxic HABs, and have now shown that, by heating them at temperatures of 700-1000 °C in argon gas, the HABs can be converted into a material called "hard carbon" that can be used as high-capacity, low-cost electrodes for sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries. The researchers, led by environmental engineer Dr. Da Deng at Wayne State University in Detroit, have published a paper on using HABs for electrochemical energy storage in a recent issue of Environmental Science & Technology.
