BIO BATTERY

CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION
1.INTRODUCTION

Abiobatteryisanenergystoringdevicethatispoweredbyorganiccompounds.BioBatterygenerates
electricityfromrenewablefuels(glucose,sucrose,fructose,etc)providingasustained,ondemandportable
powersource.Whenenzymesinourbodiesbreakdownglucose,severalelectronsandprotonsarereleased.
Therefore,byusingenzymes tobreakdownglucose,biobatteriesdirectlyreceiveenergyfromglucose.
Thesebatteriesthenstorethisenergyforlateruse.Thisconceptisalmostidenticaltohowbothplantsand
manyanimals obtainenergy. Biobatteryusebiocatalyst, eitherbiomolecules suchasenzymesoreven
wholelivingorganismtocatalyzeoxidationofbiomassbasedmaterialsforgeneratingelectricalenergy.[1]

Fig1:ABioBattery
BioBatterycanbecalledasenergyaccumulateddevicethatismotorizedbyorganiccompounds,usually
beingglucose,likeglucoseinhumanblood.Manyelectronsandprotonsarereleasedduetobreakdownof
glucosebyenzymespresentinourbody.Thus,biobatteriesdirectlygetenergyfromglucosebyusing
enzymespresentinahumanbodybreakdownglucose.Aninterestingfactisthatbacteriacangenerate
electricitywhenaproteinintheircellmembranesgetsintouchwithamineralsurface.Shewanella
oneidensisismarinebacteriathatcandevelopelectriccurrentswhenbaredtoheavymetalslikeironand
manganese.Theseproteinscantransmitelectronstransverselyamembraneataratefasterenoughsothatthe
energyproducedissufficientsothatbacteriacansurvive.Functioningofthesebacteriawillhelpscientistsin
makingthosebiobatteriesthatcouldstoreenergyforsensorsinremoteenvironment.
Humanbloodandsugarglucoseareconsideredasmostpricelesssourcesofpowerbecausetheyhappen
naturally,areeasytogetandnoharmfulemissionsarereproduced.Anotherinterestingbatteryuseshuman
urineasitsfuel.Thesizeofthedeviceislikeacreditcardsizeandmightformthesourceofeconomical,
disposablediseasetesting kits.What makes itmore usefulis that thebatteryanddevices fortestingis
incorporatedinonedisposablechip[2]
1.1Necessity
Thereareseveralreasonstoresearchalternativefuelsources.Forone,itmayleadtoanalternativesolution
toourdependenceonoilandothertypesofenergysourcesthatharm

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theenvironment.Also,fromamedicalpointofview,developingsmallbatteriesthatcanbepoweredbya
humanbodymyproverevolutionaryformanyreasons:healthcomplications/cost/availability.Carbohydrates
(glucose)arebrokendowntoreleaseenergyandgenerateelectricity.Thisbiobattery,whichisbasedon
mechanismsusedinlivingorganism,isnotonlyfriendlytotheenvironmentbutalsohasgreatpotentialfor
useasanenergysource.
Unlikefossilfuels,carbohydrates(glucose)arecarbonneutralanddonotcontributetoincreasesincarbon
dioxide. The important constraints like energy density, size/weight, instant recharge, flexible shape,
renewablebiocatalysts,roomtemperatureoperation,andreadilyavailablefuelsourcecreatedthenecessity
ofbatteries whichcanberenewableandacontinuous sourceofenergy.TheinventionofBiobatteries
contributeingoodwilloftheenvironmentbuteliminatingtheshortfallsofferedbytraditionalbatteriesmade
upofmetalplates.

Fig2:Carboncycle

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Plantscreatebothcarbohydratesandoxygenbyphotosynthesisfromcarbondioxideandwater.Animalstake
upthosecarbohydratesandoxygenandutilizethemasanenergysourceandreleasecarbondioxideand
water.Thenthiscyclestartsagain.Sincethecarbondioxideisrecycledinthissystem,theamountofcarbon
dioxideintheatmospheredoesnotincrease.Ifelectricalenergycouldbedirectlyacquiredfromthiscycle,

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