Paper Based Biodegradable Batteries Developed By Scientists

xt-align: center;">Paper Based Biodegradable Batteries Developed By Scientists

e-waste has been a major concern lately owing to the increase in pollution level across the world. Conventional lithium-ion batteries used to juice up our electronics is a major component of e-waste. Not only it’s highly poisonous and lethal but also non-biodegradable.

Binghamton University researchers are here with a solution. They have a created an eco-friendly, biodegradable battery made from paper and its claimed to be much more efficient than other proposed designs.

Seokheun “Sean” Choi, Associate Professor from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and Professor Omowunmi Sadik from the Chemistry Department have simultaneously worked on this project making sure the design is full-proof and the biobattery is self-sustainable.

As per Choi their paper-based hybrid model of biobattery displayed a much higher power-to-cost ratio.

How does this paper based Biobattery works?

A combination of paper and the engineered polymer has been used to design this biobattery. The key polymers used to maintain the biodegradable property of the battery were poly (amic) acid and poly (pyromellitic dianhydride-p-phenylenediamine). The battery is claimed to be highly cost-effective, lightweight and flexible.

“Power enhancement can be potentially achieved by simply folding or stacking the hybrid, flexible paper-polymer devices,” said Choi.

In the testing phase, the biodegradable factor of the battery was confirmed without the aid of any special factors, such as inducted artificial conditions or any microorganisms.

There has been a constant requirement of eco-friendly electronic commodities. Several efforts have been made by the scientific community in this area be it Origami battery, Microbacteria powered battery, but a prominent pocket-friendly solution is still awaited in the market.

Adapted from Research paper: Green Biobatteries: Hybrid Paper–Polymer Microbial Fuel Cells By – Maedeh Mohammadifar Idris Yazgan Jing Zhang Victor Kariuki Omowunmi A. Sadik Seokheun Choi