Sugar made Batteries that last 10x more! Sweet!

[samuel]

 

Sugar-powered biobattery has 10 times the energy storage of lithium: Your smartphone might soon run on enzymes

• By Sebastian Anthony on January 21, 2014 at 2:01 pm
• 34 Comments

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As you probably know, from sucking down cans of Coke and masticating on candy, sugar — glucose, fructose, sucrose, dextrose — is an excellent source of energy. Biologically speaking, sugar molecules are energy-dense, easy to transport, and cheap to digest. There is a reason why almost every living cell on Earth generates its energy (ATP) from glucose. Now, researchers at Virginia Tech have successfully created a sugar-powered fuel cell that has an energy storage density of 596 amp-hours per kilo — or “one order of magnitude” higher than lithium-ion batteries. This fuel cell is refillable with a solution of maltodextrin, and its only by products are electricity and water. The chief researcher, Y.H. Percival Zhang, says the tech could be commercialized in as soon as three years.

Now, it’s not exactly news that sugar is an excellent energy source. As a culture we’ve probably known about it since before we were Homo sapiens. The problem is, unless you’re a living organism or some kind of incendiary device, extracting that energy is difficult. In nature, an enzymatic pathway is used — a production line of tailor-made enzymes that meddle with the glucose molecules until they become ATP. Because it’s easy enough to produce enzymes in large quantities, researchers have tried to create fuel cells that use artificial “metabolism” to break down glucose into electricity (biobatteries), but it has historically proven very hard to find the right pathway for maximum efficiency and to keep the enzymes in the right place over a long period of time.

A diagram of the enzymatic fuel cell. The little Pac-Man things are enzymes.

Now, however, Zhang and friends at Virginia Tech appear to have built a high-density fuel cell that uses an enzymatic pathway to create a lot of electricity from glucose. There doesn’t seem to be much information on how stable this biobattery is over multiple refills, but if Zhang thinks it could be commercialized in three years, that’s a very good sign. Curiously, the research paper says that the enzymes are non-immobilized — meaning Zhang found a certain battery chemistry that doesn’t require the enzymes to be kept in place… or, alternatively, that it will only work for a very short time.

Energy densities of various battery types. “15% Maltodextrin”, in dark blue, is the battery being discussed here.

The Virginia Tech biobattery uses 13 enzymes, plus air (it’s an air-breathing biobattery), to produce nearly 24 electrons from a single glucose unit. This equates to a power output of 0.8 mW/cm, current density of 6 mA/cm, and energy storage density of 596 Ah/kg. This last figure is impressive, at roughly 10 times the energy density of the lithium-ion batteries in your mobile devices. [Research paper: doi:10.1038/ncomms4026 - "A high-energy-density sugar biobattery based on a synthetic enzymatic pathway]

If Zhang’s biobatteries pan out, you might soon be recharging your smartphone by pouring in a solution of 15% maltodextrin. That battery would not only be very safe (it produces water and electricity), but very cheap to run and very green. This seems to fit in perfectly with Zhang’s homepage, which talks about how his main goals in life are replacing crude oil with sugar, and feeding the world.

The other area in which biobatteries might be useful is powering implanted devices, such as pacemakers — or, in the future, subcutaneous sensors and computers. Such a biobattery could feed on the glucose in your bloodstream, providing an endless supply of safe electricity for the myriad implants that futuristic technocrats will surely have.

 

 

source: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/175137-sugar-powered-biobattery-has-10-times-the-energy-storage-of-lithium-your-smartphone-might-soon-run-on-enzymes

 

Hopefully we will really see this in 3 years! And if the endurace is not so good, just give me the option to refill the sugar inside once a month. It should work, right?   :lol:

[Nineshadow]

Wee

[Mr.Duck]

Sad thing now sugar is going to be more expensive

nice thing maybe this will get rid of every night charge phones

[samuel]

Sad thing now sugar is going to be more expensive

LOL... I will literally grow my own sugar beets it that would be the case. 

[linusforsell]

Sad thing now sugar is going to be more expensive

nice thing maybe this will get rid of every night charge phones

 

Well... if they make them right, these batteries could create their own sugar — Just leave them out in the sun for some time to charge them!

[MatheusSanzo]

Conspiracy from sugar companies to sell more sugar.

[wpirobotbuilder]

If this replaces Lithium batteries it would be fantastic. Less stuff to mine, easier disposal, a (more) renewable fuel, etc.

 

Though it will mean that much more acreage is needed for sugar production, which likely would mean the cutting down of Amazonian rainforest, since sugar only grows at high-volume commercial levels near the equator, and Brazil is the lead producer. Sadly, sugar beets don't produce as much sugar as sugar cane.

[onionring]

If this replaces Lithium batteries it would be fantastic. Less stuff to mine, easier disposal, a (more) renewable fuel, etc.

Though it will mean that much more acreage is needed for sugar production, which likely would mean the cutting down of Amazonian rainforest, since sugar only grows at high-volume commercial levels near the equator, and Brazil is the lead producer. Sadly, sugar beets don't produce as much sugar as sugar cane.

think about electric cars with sugar "fuel" pumps every where...

[Peopie]

Would this be an efficient way to generate electricity?

 

or are the other current methods, like coal, oil, hydro, solar, etc, more environmentally/economically friendlier?

[Tataffe]

Offtopic: samuel, you just got a like for the title.

[onionring]

Would this be an efficient way to generate electricity?

 

or are the other current methods, like coal, oil, hydro, solar, etc, more environmentally/economically friendlier?

 

my guess is that youre better off using anything else than food to make electricity when you can

as you know, we eat food but can t do much with fuel other than electricity.

[Ruostunut kokis]

If this becomes a thing after a few years, I bet the sugar prices will skyrocket.

[swifty7]

what's with these side techs.....what happened to graphine based super capacitors that charge in seconds?  I guess that tech will never see the light of day due to greedy battery companies.

[DudeWazap]

Can I eat them?

[onionring]

what's with these side techs.....what happened to graphine based super capacitors that charge in seconds?  I guess that tech will never see the light of day due to greedy battery companies.

 

capacitor only stores electrical energy and gives out electrical energy.

 

this ''battery'' actually turn the sugar's chemical energy into usable electricity. 2 totally different goals.

[flibberdipper]

This is cool. Really cool.

[mgsstar]

@OP Would be great if you pasted it in plain text as it makes it hard for people in the night theme to read (Black background on dark text).

Just hope this battery doesn't attract any ants around it by containing it properly.

[TheWhiteOne]

I really like this. But I'm interested how refilling affects it.

[nicholaswillems]

Now the last few years I keep hearing that they find cheaper, faster to charge and higher capacity batteries. Yet I don't see the slightest hint of them being used yet. This could be awesome for electric cars especially, but experts keep saying that batteries won't change for at least 5 years.. wut?

[swifty7]

capacitor only stores electrical energy and gives out electrical energy.

 

this ''battery'' actually turn the sugar's chemical energy into usable electricity. 2 totally different goals.

who cares about sugar based batteries when you can have graphine ones that charge in seconds with max efficiency and no degredation.  Also by using sugar, will lead to more aggressive  deforestation to make way for land to grow sugarcane crops.

[samuel]

who cares about sugar based batteries when you can have graphine ones that charge in seconds with max efficiency and no degredation.  Also by using sugar, will lead to more aggressive  deforestation to make way for land to grow sugarcane crops.

I do! What is better and cooler than organic vs artificial competition. Deforestation? You think too much! One KiloGram of sugar will give you 600 Ah wich is insane even for cars! Farmers will cultivate less of something else and that's all! Oh wait, no more sulfuric acid and Pb but Photosynthesis or soft diamonds (graphine) into your phone's battery instead? Tell me something more interesting than this. 

[fishy]

my guess is that youre better off using anything else than food to make electricity when you can

as you know, we eat food but can t do much with fuel other than electricity.

 

this

couldn't agree more, even today there are so many people starving and the human population is going up strong and steady and the need for food will be bigger every year

was studying biology and i still see the image of a graph they showed us there, the malthusian trap, as what limits the population of certain species, and usually the food amount was linear, whereas population was growing, in nature it's ok, she regulates it well, but how would you feel if someone told you you can't reproduce because there isn't enough food (population regulation anyone? ), or that the food prices go up extremely and there's even more famine in the world

it's possible to escape it, we, or should i say they , already did it in 1800 with the industrial revolution, so we'd need something like that again now, and if we use food for electricity, even sooner

and ok, 1kg of sugar would give you much electricity, but imagine all cars running on sugar, or even majority of it, it's insane

same as it is with electric cars today, people think it's green and good for environment because you're not polluting directly by burning fuel in car, but usually they don't think as from where the electricity came, most of it is coming from burning coal which pollutes quite a lot and if you imagine the need of electricity if there were a lot of electric cars on the road today, even more coal burned...

so until we solve the need of electricity for electric cars with renewable and green electricity, i say no to those

and same with this, until we can produce more food, no spank you

[MangoJuiceStain]

Fake, all lies fabricated by the NSA (National Sugar Agency). They're trying to sell us more sugar. NOT THIS TIME NSA! FITE MI!

[swifty7]

this

couldn't agree more, even today there are so many people starving and the human population is going up strong and steady and the need for food will be bigger every year

was studying biology and i still see the image of a graph they showed us there, the malthusian trap, as what limits the population of certain species, and usually the food amount was linear, whereas population was growing, in nature it's ok, she regulates it well, but how would you feel if someone told you you can't reproduce because there isn't enough food (population regulation anyone? ), or that the food prices go up extremely and there's even more famine in the world

it's possible to escape it, we, or should i say they , already did it in 1800 with the industrial revolution, so we'd need something like that again now, and if we use food for electricity, even sooner

and ok, 1kg of sugar would give you much electricity, but imagine all cars running on sugar, or even majority of it, it's insane

same as it is with electric cars today, people think it's green and good for environment because you're not polluting directly by burning fuel in car, but usually they don't think as from where the electricity came, most of it is coming from burning coal which pollutes quite a lot and if you imagine the need of electricity if there were a lot of electric cars on the road today, even more coal burned...

so until we solve the need of electricity for electric cars with renewable and green electricity, i say no to those

and same with this, until we can produce more food, no spank you

exactly!!  that's why we need graphine based super capacitors instead of sugar batteries.  Also graphine is easy to produce and it's biodegradable but as always those lithium ion based companies won't allow it to come to frutation.

[Nallown]

hehehehe, love the sugar title it's quiet sweet