By Priyal Babaria
Literally one of the most unnoticed inventions that we go past in our life : the battery. This seemingly unimportant invention has been powering almost all upcoming gadgets that we use. From a general eclectic circuit to eclectic cars, a battery is at the very heart of it. At the present state battery tech is relatively slow to advance, but many people have been making breakthroughs.
The most widely used battery would be the lithium ion batteries largely because of their efficiency and sustainability. However they are far from being ideal batteries at this age. There is a limit to its physical capability, and it is not entirely safe. We all have heard of samsung phones and older MacBooks blowing up, and one of the main causes is the battery. When the electrodes come together due to a physical disturbance, it can get hot very fast and that can lead it to explode. They can be highly flammable and dangerous especially under unconventional circumstances. Now this has led to a need for improvement in battery technology.
Well this would be considered a recent invention of times and circumstance. In 2017, researchers from Spain, USA and Canada described a metal free battery. Their cellulose battery was said to run for 100 minutes and then could be decomposed back into the soil. There have been claims to disprove the initial enthusiasm of it being biodegradable, as some believe that the decomposition depends on the nature of the landfill.
One of the many breakthroughs was termed “Papertronics” with the main invention made by Seokhum Choi. He had received a grant from the National Science Foundation to combine paper with battery. This involved using dried electrogens which his team termed as “a type of bacteria that can transfer electrons outside of their cells.” They can be revived by adding water or saliva.
Its main advantage is said to be its nature to be biodegradable. Lets face it, we live in a world where almost everything we have or use, probably has a biodegradable version. This could be that version of a battery. The paper battery has an estimated life of about 4 months and Choi has stated that it can decompose in water easily.
However like most sustainable projects, the problem lies in the practical application of the project. The energy produced is relatively low for it to be used practically in a day to day fashion. The microbial battery can produce a maximum of 4 µW/cm2 hence limiting their application, at least for now.
The idea has been recognised worldwide for its use and creativity, while industrialists are concerned with the practical use of the microbial battery. Some may even be against this, as it seems as an exploitation of nature. There are a lot of questions to be answered, and theories to perfect but overall this is definitely an idea worth the hype as all the other technical and sustainable inventions.
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