Scientists did not go crazy when they proposed using bean roots or medical masks as a battery – they will make flexible and cheap batteries that, due to their low cost, can be used only once. Hi-Tech understands how and why scientists make batteries from plants, garbage and biological waste.
The green trend dictates that researchers look for new solutions for storing green energy. Accumulators and batteries should not harm nature, and at best also help to clean it from pollution.
Wooden battery electrolyte
Modern technology uses lithium-ion batteries. They may burst into flames. It’s all about the liquid electrolyte, which, due to any damage or defect, can ignite.
Lithium battery electrolytes today use volatile liquids, which can cause fires if short circuited, and can also form dendrites that reduce battery performance.
Dendrites are fibers of lithium metal that form in batteries. They can short circuit and damage the battery.
So researchers at Brown and Maryland Universities created an electrolyte out of wood. It can flex and absorbs energy well during the charge cycle.
The researchers combined wood polymer tubes with copper to create a solid ionic conductor. As a result, they found that the device’s conductivity was similar to ceramics and 10 to 100 times better than other polymer ion conductors.
The researchers said that this was due to the addition of copper – it creates a space between the polymer chains of cellulose to form “ionic superhighways”. Therefore, charged particles of lithium move with record efficiency.
Bean Root Battery
A group of scientists in Sweden made a completely environmentally friendly battery – the authors proposed to store energy in the root of the bean.
Ordinary plant roots cannot store energy, so the scientists fertilized the beans with an aqueous solution of ETE-S oligomer, which was absorbed: the researchers obtained a conductive polymer film. As a result, the authors managed to make the bean roots begin to conduct current – the effect lasts 10 months. The conductivity was 10 siemens per centimeter of roots.
To store energy, the authors developed a supercapacitor in which the roots were the electrode, charging and discharging. It is noted that during the experiment the plant developed normally.
A group of scientists in Sweden made a completely environmentally friendly battery – the authors proposed to store energy in the root of the bean.
Accumulator on human urine
The Bill Gates Foundation supported the work of the Bristol Robotic Laboratory, in which the authors studied the possibility of making a battery that functions with the help of human urine. Scientists said that their device can provide recharging of a smartphone or other small gadgets.
To develop such an unusual device, the authors used a microbial fuel cell. This is a small ball, inside of which there are bacteria that make current out of microorganisms in human urine.
Urine is poured into a bottle, then it is poured through the tubes through the converters, during this process a current is generated that accumulates in the capacitors.
According to the researchers, as a result of processing, energy is generated, with which to recharge a smartphone or other small gadget.
Sand Battery
US scientists figured out how to upgrade lithium-ion batteries. While working, they focused on nanosilicon, which was a billionth of a meter in size. The researchers wanted to replace them with graphite. It is noted that nanosized silicon decomposes quickly and is difficult to produce in large quantities. Therefore, the researchers chose the most common source of silica – sand from the beach.
The authors replaced the graphite anodes with a burnt mixture of purified and crushed sand, in other words, quartz. Salt and magnesium were added to it. The resulting pure nanosilicon had a porous three-dimensional consistency. This porosity has proven to be the key to improving the performance of batteries made from nanosilicon.
Scientists said that the efficiency of conventional lithium-ion batteries has increased, and their service life has increased three times.
Store energy in medical masks and drug packaging
About 129 billion protective masks are thrown away every month around the world. Environmentalists say most of this garbage is disposable and made of plastic, so it will take thousands of years to decompose. Hi-Tech previously wrote why the problem with disposable medical masks is so acute.
The authors of the new work have proposed another way to use used medical masks. Researchers from the Moscow State Institute of Steel and Alloys, together with colleagues from the United States and Mexico, have come up with a method for producing batteries from used medical masks, as well as medicine packages. The researchers note that for their method of production, it saves 10 times energy, and the batteries are small, flexible and cheap.
To make their battery masks, it is first decontaminated with ultrasound and placed in graphene. Next, the impregnated maxi is pressed at a temperature of 140 ° C to make a homogeneous mass.
After that, a special separating pad, which is also made of a mask, is placed between the pair of electrodes. It is impregnated with electrolyte. The resulting device is fastened with a protective sheath, which is made from drug packages. Developers propose to produce batteries for electric vehicles and solar power plants in a similar way.
The authors of the new work have proposed another way to use used medical masks. Researchers from the Moscow State Institute of Steel and Alloys, together with colleagues from the United States and Mexico, have come up with a method for producing batteries from used medical masks, as well as medicine packages. The researchers note that for their method of production, it saves 10 times energy, and the batteries are small, flexible and cheap.
Perhaps the most extravagant solutions from the list will not be mass-produced, but the ideas for recycling garbage and packaging will definitely make a significant contribution to a cleaner environment. Batteries and accumulators are a mass-produced product that will be produced in an environmentally friendly manner in the coming years.
