Allstocks.com's Bulletin Board Post New Topic  Post A Reply
my profile login | register | search | faq | forum home

  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Allstocks.com's Bulletin Board » Off-Topic Post, Non Stock Talk » Sweet New Battery Runs on Sugar

 - UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!    
Author Topic: Sweet New Battery Runs on Sugar
Gordon Bennett
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for Gordon Bennett     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
Sweet New Battery Runs on Sugar
By Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
posted: 25 March 2007
12:20 pm ET


In the near future, longer-lasting batteries could run on virtually anything sugary, including tree sap or flat soda pop.

Scientists say these sweet new batteries could operate three to four times longer than the conventional lithium ion batteries commonly used in cell phones, laptops, MP3 players and many other portable electronic devices. And they are biodegradable.

"By bridging biology and chemistry, we can build a better battery that's also cleaner for the environment," researcher Shelley Minteer, an electrochemist at Saint Louis University in Missouri, said in a prepared statement.

Sugar is used as fuel by all living things. Now Minteer and her colleagues have adapted enzymes from nature that can strip charges from sugar to generate electricity in fuel cells.

Like all fuel cells, the new device combines fuel—in this case, sugar—with air to generate electricity and water as the main byproducts. Unlike other fuel cells, all the materials used to build the sugary device are biodegradable.

The key ingredient making up the new device is the charge-stripping enzyme. The scientists incorporated this enzyme into membranes composed of chitosan, a commercial compound derived from crabs, shrimp and other crustaceans. These membranes are then integrated into fuel cells.

Minteer and her colleagues have developed a small prototype battery about the size of a postage stamp to successfully run a handheld calculator, findings they presented today at the American Chemical Society annual meeting in Chicago. They said the fuel cell could be ready for commercialization in three to five years.

So far the researchers have run the batteries on sap from trees and cacti, flat soda and sweetened drink mixes. They also tested fizzy sodas, but Minteer noted the carbonation appears to weaken the fuel cell. So far the best fuel source is simply ordinary table sugar dissolved in water.

Potential applications include portable cell phone rechargers. Other uses might include powering remote sensors for detecting biological and chemical weapons. Future research may include modifying the battery's performance for high temperatures and extending battery life, Minteer said.

Source

--------------------
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a
little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

- Benjamin Franklin

Posts: 3898 | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
bdgee
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for bdgee     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
Interesting
Posts: 11304 | From: Fort Worth, Texas | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Gordon Bennett
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for Gordon Bennett     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
These are the kinds of technologies we should be pouring research dollars into. Not oil and coal...

--------------------
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a
little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

- Benjamin Franklin

Posts: 3898 | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
glassman
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for glassman     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
she also has some that run off vodka [Wink]

--------------------
Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise.

Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
CashCowMoo
Member


Rate Member
Icon 1 posted      Profile for CashCowMoo     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
china should really dig into this stuff with the kind of pollution going on over there

--------------------
It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so.

Posts: 6949 | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Gordon Bennett
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for Gordon Bennett     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
This could give the McDonalds drive-through a real reason to exist.

"Yeah fill it up with chocolate shakes, please."

[Big Grin]

--------------------
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a
little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

- Benjamin Franklin

Posts: 3898 | Registered: Dec 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
urnso77
Member


Member Rated:
4
Icon 1 posted      Profile for urnso77     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
This just reminded me of a scene from the end of the movie Back to the Future when the doc had his mr. fusion that he would fill with waste to make gas or whatever to run the delorian.

I'm not trying to make light of the technology though. It sounds like an awesome concept. Damn baby toys use up those batteries fast!

Posts: 361 | From: CT | Registered: Feb 2007  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
glassman
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for glassman     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
we switched over to NiMh rechargeables several years ago...

they have paid for themselves several times over... none have leaked, and the only ones we have had to replace are the ones the kids lost...

--------------------
Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise.

Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Ramius
Member


Rate Member
Icon 1 posted      Profile for Ramius     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
Interesting stuff...

funny choice of examples for uses:

"Other uses might include powering remote sensors for detecting biological and chemical weapons."

Of the zillions of things that use battery power they chose to use remote biological and chemical weapons sensors and an example?

Posts: 722 | From: Richmond, Va , USA | Registered: Mar 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
glassman
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for glassman     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Ramius:
Interesting stuff...

funny choice of examples for uses:

"Other uses might include powering remote sensors for detecting biological and chemical weapons."

Of the zillions of things that use battery power they chose to use remote biological and chemical weapons sensors and an example?

DARPA has lots of money for grants [Wink]

--------------------
Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise.

Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
IMAKEMONEY
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for IMAKEMONEY     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
SAME HERE GLASS.ITS GREAT!!glassman
Member


posted March 27, 2007 04:44 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
we switched over to NiMh rechargeables several years ago...

they have paid for themselves several times over... none have leaked, and the only ones we have had to replace are the ones the kids lost...

--------------------
beware of idjits posing as politicians

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posts: 20840 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003 | IP: Logged |

--------------------
LIFE IS 10% HOW YOU MAKE IT AND 90% HOW YOU TAKE IT!

Posts: 9276 | From: San Diego CA | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
glassman
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for glassman     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
now i'm gettting ready to do battle with Entergy so i can put up a 10Kw solar array to run my glass melting furnace...
this one may end with me pestering my State Representatives [Big Grin] i already feel sorry for them...

--------------------
Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise.

Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
IMAKEMONEY
Member


Icon 1 posted      Profile for IMAKEMONEY     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post   Reply With Quote 
LOL, HAVE FUN WITH IT.

--------------------
LIFE IS 10% HOW YOU MAKE IT AND 90% HOW YOU TAKE IT!

Posts: 9276 | From: San Diego CA | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

Quick Reply
Message:

HTML is enabled.
UBB Code™ is enabled.

Instant Graemlins
   


Post New Topic  Post A Reply Close Topic   Feature Topic   Move Topic   Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:


Contact Us | Allstocks.com Message Board Home

© 1997 - 2021 Allstocks.com. All rights reserved.

Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2

Share