The future of the mobile phone battery just got a whole lot sweeter after researchers at Saint Louis University developed a biodegradable fuel cell battery capable of running on anything containing sugar. Apparently the cell can power itself from any sugar source from soft drinks to tree sap for up to 4 times longer than a conventional lithium ion battery.
For today’s battery hungry devices any increase in power is a revolution.
Sugar powered fuel cells are not a brand new concept but the previous versions have never been small enough or efficient enough to make anybody stand up and take notice. Nature has been harnessing sugar power efficiently for years but its not until Minteer managed to use a postage stamp sized cell to power a calculator that sugar power became a real possibility within the next 3 to 5 years.
Saint Louis University electrochemist, Shelley Minteer, Ph.D. commented:
This study shows that renewable fuels can be directly employed in batteries at room temperature to lead to more energy-efficient battery technology than metal-based approaches. It demonstrates that by bridging biology and chemistry, we can build a better battery that’s also cleaner for the environment.
Fuel cells would need to be recharged by adding a sugar source. The devices work well with glucose, flat sodas, sweetened drink mixes and tree sap but the best mix is simply sugar and water. The by product is pure water.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!