A bio battery is an energy storage device that gets its power from organic compounds, including glucose. Now we do know the glucose in our blood contains the energy we need to live. And moreover, our nervous systems communicate by electrochemical impulses. But that said, are bio batteries a viable alternative or are they just a scientific curiosity?
Could Bio Batteries Become A Viable Alternative
Enzymes in our bodies break down glucose to release several electrons and proteins according to Wikipedia. Therefore it follows we could theoretically use enzymes to create a ‘bio battery’. In fact, that would be similar to the way plants and animals use energy from metabolic reactions.
A bio battery would use the universal anode-cathode-electrolyte-separator design. This technology is still in its infancy, although we have heard SONY built a bio battery producing 50 milliwatts. This would have been sufficient to power one MP3 player, and other low-energy devices such as toys.
Research is Ongoing to Produce Viable Bio Batteries
1st International E-conference on Microbiology produced a short paper on bio batteries by Primeasia University authors. They successfully produced an energy storage device using glucose similar to that in human blood as follows, for information only.
Equipment
Two beakers, one salt bridge, two wires, a micro-organism like e.coli, b.cereus, s.aureus, pseudomonas spp, one liter salt water, and two solenoids such as iron or copper coil.
Operation
The micro-organisms generated ions at the cathode. These travelled through the salt bridge to the anode generating between 0.65 and 2 volts on several occasions. The team confirmed bio batteries have potential to generate electricity in addition to storing it.
They also use less toxic, less corrosive, non-flammable materials, and are therefore a cleaner alternative renewable power source. The team commented they could have achieved a similar result using polluted water containing a high microbe concentration.
It therefore seems possible bio batteries could become a viable alternative in future. However, they do still seem to be at the stage where they are a scientific curiosity. We are amazed to discover the electric potential flowing in our veins across countless generations.
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