• Energy Research

Science Walden, which is inspired by two prominent literary works, namely, Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) and Walden Two by Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904–1990), is aimed at establishing a community that embodies humanistic values while embracing scientific advancement to produce renewable energy and water sources. This study attempts to capitalize on feces standard money (FSM) and artistic collaboration between scientists and artists as a means of achieving the forms of life depicted in Walden and Walden Two. On our campus, we designed and built a pavilion that serves as a laboratory where scientific advantages, design, and art are merged. In the pavilion, feces are processed in reactors and facilities for sustainable energy production, and rainwater is harvested and treated for use in daily life. Our application of design and art contributes to easing interaction between the general public and scientists because it visualizes an ambiguous theory and concretizes it into an understandable image.

This study investigated how inert supporting electrolytes (SEs), which increase the electrical conductivity, affect electrochemical ozone production (EOP) on a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode. Regardless of the SE species, the EOP was suppressed about 60% in a SE concentration of 1 mM for which the conductivity is similar to that of tap water compared to deionized water. The production of H2O2, which is known to be generated by the combination of , was also suppressed. On the other hand, the formation of was not significantly affected by the presence of SEs, an intermediate for ozone production. Consequently, suppression of EOP by SE can be explained by physical interference from the diffusion or combination of by the SE anions concentrated near the electrode surface. This study contributes by providing a better mechanistic understanding of the effect of SEs on EOP in a solid polymer electrolyte/BDD system.