It is high time that we change the way we operate automobile technology in cars. A new technology is being found and if implemented successfully, it could be one of the best technologies for humankind. The topic that is being talked about is battery operated car. Notably, bio battery is an energy storage device powered by biological compounds/organic compounds. The most common compound for this purpose is glucose. The chemical reactions that result in energy generation from glucose are a lot similar to the reactions that go inside our body. Glucose is broken into several smaller compounds, electrons and protons using enzymes. This breaking up of glucose is accompanied by energy production. Bio batteries also use the same principle of providing energy. Several researches are going on in this direction. But, Sony has already launched new prototypes of bio batteries in Japan; however its still time for the cars in India to see these batteries.
These batteries, too, use glucose for energy production. This glucose is obtained from paper. It is time to have a deeper look in the technology used in this bio battery. When paper enters the battery, it is first shredded and then converted into glucose using the enzyme cellulase. This glucose then, in presence of oxygen and some more enzymes, produces electrons and hydrogen ions. The electrons generated are used to produce electricity. The chemical reactions also generate water and gluconolactone, which is widely used in cosmetic items as by–products. Isn’t this a win–win situation? Though, the amount of paper required for this battery would be very large. The prototype launched by Sony presently can be used to power basic music players but not battery operated cars. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s the end. According to the team behind Sony’s bio batteries, this is the beginning and a lot of work is going on this principle.
Let’s hope these batteries can be used in current generation cars in a couple of years to come. It should be noted here that Stanford University has also been working on paper-based bio batteries. According to the scientists there, their battery can last through 40,000 recharging cycles. Other universities like MIT and research corporations like CFD Research Corporation are also working on this concept of bio batteries. But, bio batteries in seem like a concept that would take at least 5 years to develop. It is still going to take some time before these batteries are fitted in cars in India.
