Watson College Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi aims to develop portable and storable fuel cells for on-demand power generation.
Last fall, Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi and his Bioelectronics and Microsystems Laboratory published a study on an ingestible biobattery activated by human intestinal Ph factors.
Now he and his PhD student Maryam Rezaie are incorporating what they’ve learned into new ideas for use outside the body.
A new study in the nanotechnology journal Small shares the results of using spore-forming bacteria similar to previous ingestible versions to create a device that could still function 100 years later.
“The overall aim is to develop a microbial fuel cell that can be stored for relatively long periods of time without loss of biocatalytic activity and that can be rapidly activated by absorbing moisture from the air.” Thomas J. Watson College He holds a degree in Computer Engineering from the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
“We wanted these bio-batteries to be portable, storable, and capable of generating electricity on demand,” said Choi. “The question is how can we provide long-term storage of bacteria until use, and if that is possible, how can we provide on-demand battery activation for quick and easy power generation? So how do you power it up?”
The dime-sized fuel cell was sealed with Kapton tape, a material that can withstand temperatures from -500 to 750 degrees Fahrenheit. When the tape was removed and water was added, the bacteria mixed with the chemical germinant and encouraged the microbes to produce spores.The energy from that reaction powered an LED, digital thermometer, or small clock. generated enough to
Thermal activation of bacterial spores reduced the time to maximum output from 1 h to 20 min, with higher humidity and higher electrical output. At room temperature he had only a 2% drop in power output after a week of storage.
The research was funded by the Office of Naval Research, and it’s easy to imagine military applications for a power source that could be deployed on the battlefield or in remote locations.
These are all good results, but Choi knows that for such fuel cells to be viable alternatives to traditional batteries, they need to start up faster and produce more voltage. increase.
“I think this is a good start,” he said. “Hopefully, we can use these ideas to make a commercial product.”
Original: Tiny biobattery with 100-year shelf life runs on bacteria
Than: Binghamton University
