The fututre of Bio-batteries

Ever thought of powering your battery with your blood, urine or sweat? If you are really tired of traditional batteries based on chemical electrolyte because of their hazardous effects and low life, don’t regret. It’s time to look for the bio-batteries. Bio-batteries are small power devices which use bodily fluids as electrolyte instead of a chemical as used in traditional batteries.Let’s have a look at the ground breaking research conducted so far on bio-batteries. In 2003, researchers at Panasonic's Nanotechnology Research Laboratory located in Japan successfully extracted power from blood glucose. At the time, they were using highly catalytic glucose enzymes to retrieve electrons from glucose. Two years later Singaporean scientists developed a credit-card sized battery that used urine as electrolyte. The scientists claimed the device can not only be used for bio-medical purposes but can also charge an electronic gadget for a brief time. During the same year another Japanese research team in Tohoku University created what they called as "biological fuel cell" which could be used to power small medical devices.

All fine but a major breakthrough was achieved in the research on bio-batteries when in August 2007 a group of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York created such a battery that used electrolyte naturally found in bodily fluids and other organic material. The battery is thin as paper made 90% of cellulose and 10% of carbon nanotubes acting as conductors. The battery can be cut into various shapes and still conducting. Due to its small size, flexibility and replenishing electrolyte source, the "paper bio-battery" is an ideal candidate for various medical applications. RPI researchers believe several sheets of this bio-battery could be lumped together to power medical implants, such as advanced prosthetics, pacemakers and artificial hearts . This battery, researchers claim, could easily be placed under skin without much discomfort.Although significant research has been done on bio-batteries, it may take years to finally stream off production lines and replace the traditional batteries like nickel-cadmium, lithium-ion etc. The traditional batteries present a whole host of problems—they wear off fast failing to retain the charge, not only are they bulky and rigid but they can overheat, leak or even explode in some situations—while the bio-batteries are small, flexible, long lasting and most importantly environmentally friendly. But their commercial production may take a while as the scientists are busy to enhance the efficiency of the bio-battery and to work out the best mode of their industrial production.