The biobattery is made of paper and engineered polymers (poly amic acid and poly pyromellitic dianhydride-p-phenylenediamine) and is called the Green Biobattery. The batteries biodegrade in water and their biodegradation doesn’t require special facilities, conditions or introduction of other microorganisms.

The biobatteries are light-weight, easy to produce, low-cost, flexible and more efficient than previous models.  Another innovation: Power enhancement can be achieved by folding or stacking the hybrid, flexible paper-polymer devices.

The paper-based Green Biobattery was invented by associate Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and Professor Omowunmi Sadik from the Chemistry Department worked on the paper-based battery. Choi made the design and Sadik created the self-sustaining biobattery.

Associate Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department said:

“There’s been a dramatic increase in electronic waste and this may be an excellent way to start reducing that. Our hybrid paper battery exhibited a much higher power-to-cost ratio than all previously reported paper-based microbial batteries.”

The research paper, titled “Green Biobatteries: Hybrid Paper-Polymer Microbial Fuel Cells,” was published in Advanced Sustainable Systems. The work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation and done through the Center for Research in Advanced Sensing Technologies and Environmental Sustainability (CREATES).

REFS

Scientists Create Biodegradable, Paper-based Biobatteries

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