Researchers Craft a Fully Edible Battery (arstechnica.com) 40
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A team of researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Milan recently created a fully rechargeable battery using nontoxic edible components. This is probably the world's first battery that is safe to ingest and entirely made of food-grade materials. "Given the level of safety of these batteries, they could be used in children's toys, where there is a high risk of ingestion," said Mario Caironi, a senior researcher at IIT. However, this isn't the only solution the edible battery could provide. Apart from serving as an alternative to conventional toxic toy batteries, the edible battery from IIT could also play a key role in making health care applications safer than ever. For instance, doctors have to be cautious regarding the use of miniature electronic devices (such as drug-delivery robots, biosensors, etc.) inside the human body, as they come equipped with batteries made of toxic substances. An edible battery could solve this problem. There are also more mundane applications, like replacing batteries in pet toys.
Ivan K. Ilic, first author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at IIT, told Ars Technica, "Two main ways a battery damages human tissue when it's inside the body is by doing water electrolysis and by the toxicity of its materials. Water electrolysis is a phenomenon where electricity with a voltage higher than 1.2 V (virtually all commercial batteries) breaks water into oxygen and hydrogen (an explosive gas), and it is very dangerous if it occurs in the stomach. Our battery is way below this voltage, around 0.65 V, so water electrolysis cannot occur. On the other hand, we used only food materials, so nothing is toxic!" Before the battery is useful, however, the researchers will need to first enhance the battery's power capacity. Currently, the edible battery can supply 48 microamperes of current for a bit over 10 minutes. So it can easily meet the power demand of a miniature medical device or a small LED. "These batteries are no competition to ordinary batteries -- they will not power electric cars -- but they are meant to power edible electronics and maybe some other niche applications, so their main advantage is non-toxicity," said Ilic. Here's a list of what makes these edible batteries work, as mentioned by Ars:
- "Quercetin, a pigment found in almonds and capers, serves as the battery cathode, whereas riboflavin (vitamin B2) makes up the battery anode.
- The researchers used nori (edible seaweed that is used in the wrapping of sushi rolls) as the separator and a water-based solution (aqueous NaHSO4) as the electrolyte.
- Activated charcoal is employed to achieve high electrical conductivity in the battery.
The battery electrodes come covered in beeswax and connect to a gold foil (used to cover pastries) that laminates a supporting structure made of ethyl cellulose."
The research has been published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Ivan K. Ilic, first author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at IIT, told Ars Technica, "Two main ways a battery damages human tissue when it's inside the body is by doing water electrolysis and by the toxicity of its materials. Water electrolysis is a phenomenon where electricity with a voltage higher than 1.2 V (virtually all commercial batteries) breaks water into oxygen and hydrogen (an explosive gas), and it is very dangerous if it occurs in the stomach. Our battery is way below this voltage, around 0.65 V, so water electrolysis cannot occur. On the other hand, we used only food materials, so nothing is toxic!" Before the battery is useful, however, the researchers will need to first enhance the battery's power capacity. Currently, the edible battery can supply 48 microamperes of current for a bit over 10 minutes. So it can easily meet the power demand of a miniature medical device or a small LED. "These batteries are no competition to ordinary batteries -- they will not power electric cars -- but they are meant to power edible electronics and maybe some other niche applications, so their main advantage is non-toxicity," said Ilic. Here's a list of what makes these edible batteries work, as mentioned by Ars:
- "Quercetin, a pigment found in almonds and capers, serves as the battery cathode, whereas riboflavin (vitamin B2) makes up the battery anode.
- The researchers used nori (edible seaweed that is used in the wrapping of sushi rolls) as the separator and a water-based solution (aqueous NaHSO4) as the electrolyte.
- Activated charcoal is employed to achieve high electrical conductivity in the battery.
The battery electrodes come covered in beeswax and connect to a gold foil (used to cover pastries) that laminates a supporting structure made of ethyl cellulose."
The research has been published in the journal Advanced Materials.
A .65v .008 mah battery? (Score:2)
Not sure on my math there for mah, but is this a battery or someone really stretching things for a research paper, because I don't see how anything could be powered by that..
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Not sure on my math there for mah, but is this a battery or someone really stretching things for a research paper, because I don't see how anything could be powered by that..
Yes, it could work! Just need to figure how many many to put in series and parallel. Oh, and also need to figure out how many such batteries are needed to power a Tesla ... and how large the garage needs to be to hold that Tesla.
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That is after you crash the Tesla down in a deep canyon and no one finds you for days. You grab the Tesla axe from the now upside-down frunk and hack out a few cells a day for sustenance. Eventually you are found by cartel weed growers on their way to harvest their illegal grow, they murder you and burn the Tesla including the remaining edible batteries.
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Could be used for at least 3 movies.
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I'll get MovieAI right on that and have this wrapped up by the weekend.
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Well... (Score:2)
Even a "small LED" needs more... (Score:3)
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" If the materials can be broken down by a human digestive system, then obviously the battery will stop working completely once the main components have been digested. "
Or the acid makes it stronger.
The next TikTok challenge (Score:2)
How many batteries can you eat before you shock someone?
Yeah I invented one too (Score:5, Funny)
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What do you use for your non-toxic electrodes? copper and zinc aren't the best things to be eating. Copper is toxic when ingested and zinc can only be tolerated in small amounts.
The potato isn't the special thing, the same can be done with many foods, as most are acidic.
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It's in TFA.
Come on, man, get out of your armchair.
Re:Yeah I invented one too (Score:4, Informative)
It's in TFA.
Come on, man, get out of your armchair.
He wasn't asking what the scientists in TFA did, he was asking what the OP did back when he was eating potatoes. Get back in your armchair and actually read the conversation before posting.
waterpipes are made of copper (Score:2)
and zinc isn't absorbed by the body if you ingest something as large as an electrode.
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"It's a potato."
Funny, but poisonous when raw.
IIT = *ITALIAN* Institute of Technology???? (Score:2)
Part of a complete breakfast (Score:2)
Can they patent this or does it count as a recipe? Will Jamie Oliver make a better tasting one? Will some obese assclown on Youtube make one with 10 thousand calories?
I'm getting out my electric popcorn!
We had these when I was a kid (Score:2)
We had these when I was a kid. We called them "the first pancake off the griddle".
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Yum! (Score:3)
I anticipate a whole new line of energy bars being marketed.
Of course the label may have to say "May contain traces of tree nuts".
And the nutrition statement will be interesting - will it list kWh rather than calories?
Knew This Was Coming (Rapture) (Score:2)
I remember the song by Blondie back in the 70s, rapping about edible Tesla batteries and Elon Musk. "You go out at night and eat up cars. Now you are the Man from Mars!"
POH-TAY-TOES (Score:2)
Yum (Score:1)
Boohoo we made edible potato batteries ages ago :p (Score:2)
I'm pretty sure quite a few readers on this forum made the experiment as kids