Biofuel Cells To Replace Rechargeable Batteries
Biofuel Cells To Replace Rechargeable Batteries
Instead of using expensive metals to catalyse the power-producing reaction, biofuel cells use enzymes.
SCIENTISTS AT the Saint Louis University have developed a new type of biofuel cell — a battery that runs on alcohol and enzymes — that could replace the rechargeable batteries in everything from laptops to Palm Pilots. Instead of plugging into a fixed power outlet and waiting, these new batteries can be charged instantly with a few millilitres of alcohol.
The new findings were presented today at the 225th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, in New Orleans.
Instead of using expensive metals to catalyse the power-producing reaction, these cells use enzymes — molecules found in all living things that speed up the body's chemical processes.
"The only items consumed in a biofuel cell are the fuel and oxygen from the air," says Shelley Minteer, an assistant professor of chemistry at Saint Louis University. Given the proper environment, an enzyme should last for long periods of time.
Enzymes are extremely sensitive to changes in pH and temperature, and even slight departures from ideal conditions can lead to inactivation of the enzymes, producing a short supply of power.
The typical approach to overcoming this barrier has been to immobilize the enzymes by attaching them to the electrodes, but they still tend to decay too quickly to be useful. Minteer and her colleagues coated the electrodes with a polymer that has specially tailored micelles — pores in which the enzymes find an ideal `micro-environment' to thrive. "The enzyme has everything it needs to function for a very long period of time instead of denaturing like it normally would," Minteer says. "Other biofuel cell studies have had lifetimes of a few days; our technique allows for enzyme activity over several weeks with no significant power decay. With proper optimization, these biofuel cells could last up to a month without recharging."
Most other biofuel cells have used methanol as a fuel, but the researchers chose ethanol because it supports more enzyme activity. Ethanol is abundant and cheap to make, relying on the well-established corn industry for its production. It is also far less volatile than hydrogen, which has seen a great deal of interest as a potential alternative fuel for automobiles.
Minteer and her colleagues are focusing on small-scale applications, with the preliminary fuel cells being no bigger than five square centimetres — about the size of a postage stamp. "We have tested probably 30-50 of the ethanol cells," Minteer says. They have successfully run their cells with vodka, gin, white wine and flat beer .
While consumer applications are still a few years off, "these results show the applicability of biofuel cell technology and help move the research from a purely academic endeavor to a more practical technology," Minteer says.
© Copyright 2000 - 2005 The Hindu
EPA Requires 800 million Gallons of Biodiesel in the U.S. Domestic Market in 2011
Renewable Energy Group Inc., the largest U.S. biodiesel producer, said it bought Tellurian Biodiesel Inc. and American BDF LLC to increase access to used cooking oil for its facilities.'Read more
Renewable Energy Buys Tellurian to Boost Biodiesel Business
New York, Jul 22 : Jatropha, a wild plant that grows well in dry areas on degraded lands and can be processed into biofuel, has potential as a low-cost energy source for poor farmers, according to a new United Nations report, which adds that further research is still needed on this crop.'Read more
Jatropha plant energy source for poor?
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced recently the selections of six projects that aim to find ways of converting captured carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial sources into useful products such as fuel, plastics, cement, and fertilizers.'Read more
Secretary Chu Announces Six Projects To Convert Captured CO2 Emissions From Industrial Sources Into Useful Products
Crops can be produced for bioenergy on a significant scale in west, eastern and southern Africa without doing damage to food production or natural habitats, according to a report produced by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, Imperial College London and CAMCO International.'Read more
Bioenergy production can expand across Africa without displacing food, report finds
The Nebraska Forest Service at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, along with partners in a national consortium, has received a $1.3 million grant to develop hybrid hazelnuts as a perennial crop in Nebraska and across the nation for use as food, animal feed and biofuel.'Read more
Neb. Forest Service gets grant for hazelnut crop
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee today blamed the biofuel industry for the low uptake of a scheme to promote it.'Read more
Industry to blame for not selling biofuels - minister
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee today blamed the biofuel industry for the low uptake of a scheme to promote it. read more'Read more
Industry to blame for not selling biofuels - minister
( Burness Communications ) Crops can be produced for bioenergy on a significant scale in west, eastern and southern Africa without doing damage to food production or natural habitats, according to a report produced by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, Imperial College London and CAMCO International. The study was released today at the 5th African Agriculture Science Week in Burkina ...'Read more
Report finds bioenergy production can expand across Africa without displacing food
Designer cells with synthetic genomes may provide "superproductive" algae for large scale biofuel pr'Read more