A ‘Plug and Play’ Biobattery Has Been Discovered by Researchers Using Bacteria

Finding ways to supply power in remote areas has become a growing field of research as our technological needs increase as well as the Internet of Things attaches our sensors and devices more frequently.

Battery Lifespan

(Photo : Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Professor Seokheun Sean Choi has been working on biobatteries, which produce electricity through bacterial interaction, for many years. Professor Choi is a member of the faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University as per ScienceDaily.

One issue he ran into was that the batteries only had a short shelf life. That might be helpful in some circumstances, but it is not suitable for this kind of long-term tracking in far-off places.

A photosynthetic bacterium produces organic food that can be used as a nutrient for other bacterial cells beneath. Unlike Choi's earlier batteries, which had two bacteria that engaged to generate the necessary power, this new version uses three bacteria in completely separate vertical chambers.

The bacteria that make electricity are located at the bottom, and the middle bacteria could well produce chemicals to facilitate the transfer of electrons.

Choi thinks that unattended deployment of wireless networks in harsh environments will be the most difficult application of the Internet of Things.

When their conventional batteries run out, these detectors will be hard to reach and far from an electrical grid. Power autonomy is by far the most important requirement because all those networks will make it possible for every area of the world to also be connected.

Bio-battery

A bio-battery is a tool for storing electrical energy that has many uses. Organic substances that are obtainable in glucose form, which is used in human bodies, can be used to power this battery, as per Elprocus.

Electric charges are released during the digestion process in humans as enzymes break down the glucose. These batteries will therefore be able to directly access glucose as a source of energy by using enzymes to break down glucose.

Research teams at Binghamton University, State University of New York, have created a plug-and-play biobattery that lasted at least for weeks at a time, and it can be stacked to enhance output voltage and current. The batteries will then store the energy for a future purpose.

This concept roughly corresponds to how both animals and plants obtain energy. Despite this, these batteries are still examined before being sold. Many engineers and researchers are currently working on the advancement of these batteries.

Development of Bio-battery

Anode, cathode, electrolyte, and separator are the four materials that can be used to build a bio-battery. These four elements are all covered on top of one another, allowing them to stand alone.

Comparable to other batteries, these batteries have a positively charged cathode and a negatively charged anode. The main distinction between the anode and the cathode allows the electron to flow between them.

The cathode terminal is located on the bottom of the battery in a bio-battery, while the anode terminal is located on top of the battery. A separator-containing electrolyte is positioned between any of these two terminals.

In order to prevent a short circuit and prevent damage to the rest of the battery, a separator, which can be made of lead, is essential in this situation.

Both the flow of protons and electrons will be responsible for producing electricity in this system. Because glucose serves as the bio-primary battery's energy source, producing electricity from it requires a lot of glucose.

The same principle that allows for the glucose to breaking down into smaller pieces in the human body also applies to bio-battery.