Abstract of Bio Battery
When a glucose solution is poured
into the white cubes, the Walkman begins to play. When an isotonic drink is
poured in, a propeller starts to spin. In the summer of 2007, the Sony-developed
bio battery was announced in newspapers, magazines, and TV reports, and evoked
a strong response. Carbohydrates (glucose) are broken down to release energy
and generate electricity. This bio battery, which is based on mechanisms used
in living organism, is not only friendly to the environment but also has great
potential for use as an energy source. This prototype bio battery has achieved
the world’s highest power output of 50 mW*2 when employed for a passive type*1
system. These research results were published at the 234th American Chemical
Society National Meeting & Exposition in August 2007 and earned respect
from an academic point of view.
Introduction
Sony successfully demonstrated bio
battery powered music playback with a memory type Walkman and passive speakers
(which operate on power supplied by the Walkman) by connecting four bio battery
units in series. The case of this bio battery, which is made from an organic
plastic (polylactate), is designed to be reminiscent of a living cell. Plants
create both carbohydrates and oxygen by photosynthesis from carbon dioxide and
water. Animals take up those carbohydrates and oxygen and utilize them as an
energy source and release carbon dioxide and water. Then this cycle starts
again. Since the carbon dioxide is recycled in this system, the amount of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does not increase. If electrical energy could
be directly acquired from this cycle, we could obtain more environmentally
friendly energy than that from fossil fuels. Furthermore, renewable energy
sources such as glucose (which is present in plants and therefore abundantly
available) have an extremely high energy density. One bowl of rice (about 100
grams) is equivalent to 160 kilocalories, which corresponds to the energy about
64 AA alkaline dry cells. Therefore, this bio battery, which is based on Energy
for activity, that is the ATP and thermal energy commonly used in the living
organism, can be obtained from the exchange of the electrons and protons
through these two enzymatic reactions. To take advantage of this living
organism mechanism, the energy for activity from inside the organism must be
removed outside the organism as electrical energy.
That is, when the electrons and
protons move from enzyme to enzyme, it is necessary to extract just the
electrons and divert them through a separate path. Thus Sony used an electron
transport mediator so that electrons could be exchanged smoothly between the
enzymes and the electrodes that are the entrance and exit to that detour. The
principles of the bio battery are based on the energy conversion mechanism in
living organisms. However, in order to create the bio battery, several
technologies needed to be developed. These include immobilization of enzymes
that are normally incompatible with carbon and metal electrodes, electrode
structures, and electrolytes. mechanisms used in living organisms, is not only
friendly to the environment but is also likely to be of practical use as an
energy source. Sony has focused on these advantages since 2001 and has
developed an electrical power generation device that uses mechanisms similar to
those in living organisms.
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