Seminar Report on

BIO BATTERY

Submitted by

AYYAPPADAS K
(Reg No:20042021)

For the partial fulfillment of the degree of

DIPLOMA IN ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

AKNM GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE, THIRURANGADI
VELIMUKKU P.O., MALAPPURAM
KERALA, INDIA 673635

2022-23
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the seminar report entitled“BIO BATTERY” submitted

by AYYAPPADAS K is a bonafide record of the seminar done by him/her
under our supervision and guidance for the partial fulfillment of the award
of Diploma in Electronics under the State Board of Technical
Education(SBTE), Government of Kerala during the year2022-2023.

Place:Chelari Reg. No:20042021

Date:

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT LECTURER INCHARGE

AKNM GPTC THIRURANGADI AKNM GPTCTHIRURANGADI

EXTERNALEXAMINER INTERNAL EXAMINER

AKNM GOVT.POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE,

THIRURANGADI

VISION & MISSION OF OUR INSTITUTION

VISION

To empower youth by imparting quality technical education

and ethical values for the development of society.

MISSION

• Construct technicaly competent manpower through

outcome based education.

• Inculcate values and ethics through curricular,co-

curricular and etra-curricular activities.

• Develop humen potential for entrepreneurship..

• Conducting job oriented courses in appropriate

technology for societal benefit.
 AKNM GOVT.POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE,

THIRURANGADI

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

VISION & MISSION OF DEPARTMENT

VISION

To mould the students into socially, morally and ethically

sound technocrats by providing quality education in electronics
engineering..

MISSION

• Equip students with necessary scientific temper to

meet the challenges of the industry and the society.

• Provide quality education through outcome based

curriculum and effective teaching learning process.

• Impart value based education by promoting activities

which addresses the needs of the society.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to Mrs.Parvathy AK Principal in

charge of of A.K.N.M Government Polytechnic CollegeThirurangadi,without whose help
I would have been far from completion of this report. I would like to extend my sincere
thanks to Mr.Jamal Kutty K lecturer in electronics engineering for providing me with
all the facilities for making my seminar successful one I would like to use of this
opportunity to express my heart felt gratitude to our honorable head of the department
Mrs.Stella Maria for assisting me in times of needs. I am highly indebted to all of them
for constantly encouraging me by giving their valuable suggestion on my work. I am
grateful to them for giving me support and confidence

AYYAPPADAS K
Reg No:20042021
 ABSTRACT

Bio-fuel cells are alternative energy devises based on bio-electrocatalysis of natural

substrates by enzymes or microorganisms. Here we review bio-fuel cells and bio-
batteries based on the recent literature. In general, the bio-fuel cells are classified based
on the type of electron transfer; mediated electron transfer and direct electron transfer
or electronic charge transfer (ECT). The ECT of the bio-fuel cells is critically reviewed and
a variety of possible applications are considered. The technical challenges of the bio-fuel
cells, like bioelectrocatalysis, immobilization of bioelectrocatalysts, protein denaturation
etc. are highlighted and future research directions are discussed leveraging on the use
of electron charge transfer proteins. In addition, the packaging aspects of the bio-fuel
cells are also analyzed and the found that relatively little work has been done in the
engineering development of bio-fuel cells.
 CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................1

2. CONCEPT OF ENERGY &TYPE OF FUEL.............................2

3. HISTORY OF BATTERY..............................................................4

4. TYPES OF BIO BATTERY..........................................................16

5. CONSTRUCTION..........................................................................17

6. WORKING......................................................................................18

7. ADVANTAGES &DISADVANTAGES........................................19

8. FEATURES&SPECIFICATIONS.................................................20

9. APPLICATIONS..............................................................................23

10. FUTURE SCOPE.............................................................................24

11. CONCLUTION................................................................................25.

12. REFERENCE...................................................................................26
 INTRODUCTION

A bio-battery is an energy storing device that is powered by organic

compounds. Bio-Battery generates electricity from renewable fuels
(glucose, sucrose, fructose, etc) providing a sustained, on-demand
portable power source. When enzymes in our bodies break down
glucose, several electrons and protons are released. Therefore, by
using enzymes to break down glucose, bio-batteries directly receive
energy from glucose. These batteries then store this energy for later
use. This concept is almost identical to how both plants and many
animals obtain energy. Bio battery use biocatalyst, either
biomolecules such as enzymes or even whole living organism to
catalyze oxidation of bio mass-based materials for generating
electrical energy.
Figure 5.1 Bio Battery can be called as energy accumulated device that is motorized
by organic compounds, usually being glucose like glucose in human blood. Many electrons
and protons are released due to break down of glucose by enzymes present in our body.
Thus, bio batteries directly get energy from glucose by using enzymes present in a human
body break down glucose. An interesting fact is that bacteria can generate electricity when
a protein in their cell membranes gets in touch with a mineral surface. Shewanella
oneidensis is marine bacteria that can develop electric currents when bared to heavy metals
like iron and manganese. These proteins can transmit electrons transversely a membrane
at a rate faster enough so that the energy produced is sufficient so that bacteria can survive.
Functioning of these bacteria will help scientists in making those bio batteries that could
store energy for sensors in remote environment. Human blood and sugar glucose are
considered as most priceless sources of power because they happen naturally, are easy to
get and no harmful emissions are reproduced. Another interesting battery uses human
urine as its fuel. The size of the device is like a credit card size and might form the source of
economical, disposable disease testing kits. What makes it more useful is that the battery
and devices for testing is incorporated in one disposable chip

1
 CONCEPT OF ENERGY &TYPE OF FUEL

Energy is the ability to do work. Examples of energy include electrical, nuclear, and chemical
energy. The concept of energy is key to science and engineering

Sources of energy

Figure 5.2

past we used

Current we using

Figure 5.3

2
BIO BATTERY

A fuel for next generation

6 of
Figure 5.4
25

3
 HISTORY OF BATTERY

Figure 5.5

THE FIRST MICROBIAL BFC

A biological fuel cell (BFC) or microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a type of fuel cell that converts

biochemical energy into electrical energy. Like other types of fuel cells, a biological fuel

cell consists of an anode, a cathode, and a membrane that conducts ions. In the anode

compartment, fuel is oxidized by microorganisms, and the result is protons and

electrons. In the cathode compartment, ions are consumed, and the by-product is

water. In BFCs, there is the redox reaction between the carbohydrate substrate (such as

glucose and methanol) and the catalyst -- which is a microorganism or enzyme. The

biological fuel cell is illustrated in Figure 1. The main difference between a standard

fuel cell and a BFC is the catalyst is a microorganism or enzyme. Therefore, noble

4
metals are not needed for the catalyst in BFCs. The fuel cell operates in a liquid media in

a near neutral environment and at a low temperature The potential applications for

biological fuel cells are (1) low power energy sources; (2) sensors based upon direct

electrode interactions; and (3) electrochemical synthesis of chemicals.

During the last decade, improvements have been made in the selection of the microorganisms,
process kinetics, and the use of different mediators to improve electron transfer. Also, many

Figure 5.6

In bacteria cells, mitochondria serve as the energy storage unit by accumulating or

releasing chemical energy in the form of substances like nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide with high-energy hydrogen (NADH) or nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide
phosphate (NADPH). The NADH and NADPH act as electron transfer paths from the
substrate to the metabolites. The NADH/NAD ratio increases as the oxygen limitation
becomes more severe.

5
Most of the substrate is converted into an electroactive substance through control of
bacteria metabolism. However, the biological reactions mentioned earlier only take place
in diluted aqueous media -- which is not always suitable for charge-transfer reactions.
The electron transfer from these electroactive substances to the electrode is a slow
process. Therefore, a suitable redox mediator is needed to improve the electron transfer
and the electrode reaction.

In a study done by the Helinski University of Toronto, a mediator 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphtho-

quinone (HNQ) was used to improve the electron transfer. When this mediator substance
is present in the system, the color in the biofilm reactor changes. The changes in the color
occurs because of the metabolic activity of the biofilm reactor and the electron transfer
in the fuel cell anode. Thus, it offers a simple method of monitoring and controlling
functions of the fuel cell.

Experimental tests of the bacterial fuel cells have resulted in several conclusions. First,
the conversion rate of electrical energy is lower (15 to 25 percent) than chemical fuel
cells due to the complex reactions. Secondly, the current density per anode volume
increases when the size of the fuel cell decreases. Finally, the power output increases if
the bacteria are immobilized. Another similar type of fuel cell that has been investigated
is the enzymatic fuel cell. Replacing the bacteria with an enzyme could potentially make
the process easier to control because enzymatic reactions are simpler. According to
researchers at the Helinski University of Technology, the conversion rate of the Enzymatic
Fuel Cell (EFC) is expected to be greater than 50 percent. Experiments have shown that
the rate is in the range of 40 to 55 percent for the bacterial fuel cell when the substrate
is glucose. Similarly, the current density of the EFC is likely to improve significantly
compared to that of the bacterial fuel cell.

6
Bio-production of Hydrogen
In addition to using bacteria or enzymes to create energy in BFCs, there are also different
ways to produce hydrogen through biological methods. Three main categories of hydrogen
creation through biological processes are:

• Photosynthesis using unicellular organisms that use hydrogenase or nitrogenase

reactions
• Bacteria that produce hydrogen anaerobically
• Processes that use a combination of bacteria to break down complex organic
molecules into a compound that can be transformed to hydrogen using hydrogen-
producing organisms
We will briefly introduce the photosynthesis and digestion processes that are currently
under development.

Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis consists of the conversion of light energy to biochemical energy through a
photochemical reaction and reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide to organic compounds
such as sugars. Certain plants and algae absorb solar energy, and several types of algae and
cyanobacteria produce hydrogen instead of sugars during photosynthesis. These organisms
have hydrogenase or nitrogenase enzymes to catalyze hydrogen formation.

Several types of green algae produce hydrogen. Some common ones that have been
investigated are Scenedesmus, Chlamydomonas, C. reinhardtii, Anabaena Cylindrica,
Synechococcus, Rhodobacter sp, Rubrivivax gelatinosus, Rhodovulum sulfidophilum, R.
sphaeroides as well as many others. Scenedesmus produces hydrogen on light exposure
after being kept in the dark under anaerobic conditions. This green alga is a “water
splitting” organism, which means that it performs biophotolysis using hydrogenase to
reduce water to hydrogen. Additional research work has been conducted with a mutant
of Chlamydomonas to produce a continuous flow reactor using this type of algae.
Although high efficiencies of light: hydrogen have been obtained, the hydrogenase
reaction is very sensitive to oxygen, which has prohibited advances in development

7
with this type of bacteria. New methods have been developed by the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to improve hydrogen by controlling oxygen and
sulfur in the environment of C. reinhardtii. The algae culture is grown under normal
conditions and then deprived of oxygen and sulfur, which makes it switch to an
alternate metabolism to produce hydrogen. This cycle can be continuously repeated to
generate hydrogen.

A nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, Anabaena Cylindrica, produces hydrogen and oxygen

simultaneously in an argon atmosphere for several hours. Hydrogen production occurs
under normal atmospheric conditions, but at a much slower rate than nitrogen fixation.
The hydrogen production can be increased by starving the algae of nitrogen.

Most of the photosynthetic systems being studied have low efficiencies. However,
recent advances in genetic engineering may help create more efficient systems. One
example is R. Sphaeroides, which has a photoenergy conversion of 7 percent, which
seems low; however, it is significant considering the efficiency of photovoltaic systems
is 10 percent.

Digestion Processes
Hydrogen can also be produced by the microbial digestion of organic matter in the
absence of light. Many of these bacteria types produce hydrogen with low molecular
weight acids. Unfortunately, the reaction rates are low, and a lot of hydrogen is not
generated due to the inhibition of microbial hydrogenases, along with the reaction of
hydrogen with other species. Hydrogen typically reacts with organic species or carbon
dioxide, which produces methane. Thus, one of the main challenges in digestion
processes is inhibiting methane production to favor hydrogen production. Increasing
the temperature in these types of systems is not an effective method of improving the
process efficiency because this usually denatures enzymes and bacteria. Some of the
most promising bacteria include Escherichia coli, Aerobacter aerogenes, Aerobactin
cloacae, Pseudomonas sp, and Clostridium butyricum. Clostridium butyricum has

8
yielded 35 mmol (784 ml) of hydrogen per hour from 1 g of microorganism at 37 ºC. The
use of biological processes for hydrogen production is at the point of technical system
development, and the photosynthesis-algae-bacteria systems currently seem to be the
most promising.

Figure 5.7

Biological power systems have many advantages over traditional chemical systems due
to low-temperature operation and non-hazardous materials. These systems have the
potential to eliminate the transport and storage of large quantities of hydrogen because
the hydrogen is created in-situ. Also, the BFC eliminates the occurrence of catalyst
poisoning over time due to the use of biological catalysts. These naturally-occurring
systems hold the future of energy production for portable and stationary systems.

9
 THE FIRST ENZYME BASED BFC

As a subset of BFCs, EBFCs have more specific catalytic effects and become the research focus
in recent years. EBFCs work on a similar principle to traditional BFCs, being composed of an
anode and a cathode, and an oxidoreductase is used as a catalyst to release electrons or protons
to the cathode for reduction reaction. In the EBFCs system, glucose, lactic acid, alcohol and so
on are generally used as anode substrates, while O2, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), air and so on
are used as cathode substrates. In MBFCs, several enzymes in the microorganisms play a
practical catalytic role. However, during the process of electron transfer, not only the resistance
of the enzyme's protein shell, but also the resistance of the cell membrane and cell wall must
be overcome. The EBFCs that directly use enzymes as

Figure 5.8

catalysts have the advantages of biodegradability, renewable, mild reaction conditions, low
cost, strong substrate specificity, and high catalytic activity. Moreover, EBFCs can also make use
of glucose in human blood as a substrate to achieve energy conversion, making it a promising
power source in cardiac pacemakers and implantable medical devices [12], [13], [14], [15]. The
history of EBFC can be traced back to the early 1960s. In 1964, Yahiro et al. [16]
first proposed the concept of EBFC. In 1981, Plotkin et al. [17] developed an EBFC with methanol
dehydrogenase as the anode catalyst, catalyzing the two-electron oxidation of methanol to
formate and further formaldehyde. They verified that the output current of the EBFC with the
enzyme immobilized on the electrode was 138% higher than that in free state [17].
Subsequently, Hill and colleagues continued to develop a very successful amperometric glucose
sensor [18]. In 1986, Yue and Lowther reported an EBFC immobilized with two anode

10
enzymes, methanol dehydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase, to catalyze the complete
oxidation of methanol [19]. In 1999, Willner's team [20], [21] constructed the membrane-free
EBFC for the first time to promote the miniaturization of devices and lay the foundation for the
development of implantable power supplies. With the application of the cathodic enzymes
bilirubin oxidase (BOD) and laccase (LAC), the whole-enzyme type EBFC developed rapidly [22],
[23]. In the field of EBFC research, Dong’s group and Zhu’s group [24], [25], [26] have also
performed a lot of outstanding designs. They have prepared new and efficient EBFCs and
promoted the application of EBFC in implantable micro-devices and self-powered sensors
(SPSs).

Enzymes can be divided into simple enzymes and conjugated enzymes according to their
molecular composition. The anode enzymes used in EBFC contain glucose oxidase
(GOD), glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), fructose
dehydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, etc. GOD is widely
used anode enzymes. However, the active center flavin adenosine dinucleotide (FAD) is
tightly wrapped in the protein shell, and the electrons cannot be transferred directly.
This problem can be solved by introducing electronic media to realize direct electronic
transfer (DET) [25]. The cathode catalysts are mainly BOD and LAC with copper ions as
cofactors and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) with iron ions as cofactors. Among them,
BOD and LAC belong to the blue multi-copper oxidoreductase, containing three types of
copper ions, namely, T1, T2 and T3. As shown in Fig. 2A, T1 is the catalytic site where
the substrate is oxidized and is responsible for transferring electrons to T2 and T3
copper ions. T2 and T3 are responsible for reduction of O2 to water [27]. BOD has the
characteristics of reducing the working potential of EBFC and higher catalytic efficiency
under neutral conditions, and is widely application prospect in EBFC.
The immobilization of enzymes on electrodes is crucial for the development and
performance of EBFC. The quality of enzyme immobilization affects the activity of
enzymes and the electron transfer between enzymes and electrodes, thereby affecting
the catalytic activity of electrodes. When selecting the immobilization method, the
influence of this method on the activity and stability of the enzyme should be

11
considered. Common methods of enzyme immobilization include physical adsorption,
embedding, covalent binding, affinity binding, cross-linking and electrochemical
polymerization (Fig. 2B–E). Both the advantages and disadvantages of different
immobilization methods are compared in Table 1.

EBFC can be divided into double-chamber and single-chamber according to its structure.
The double-chamber EBFC separates its anode and the cathode by a proton
semipermeable membrane, thus the anode as an electron donor and the cathode as an
electron acceptor are independent. Willner et al. [28] used gold electrodes
functionalized with pyrroloquinoline quinone and microperoxidase-11 as anode and
cathode, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and H2O2 as anode fuel and
cathode oxidant, respectively. Fig. 2F is a schematic diagram of the structure of a double-
chamber EBFC. It realizes the oxidation of NADH in the catalytic process on the anode,
which generates electrons to reduce H2O2 to generate H2O. Dong’s group [29] designed
a double-chamber glucose/O2 EBFC, whose output power was dependent on the change
of pH values and can provide energy for implantable micro-medical devices under
neutral pH conditions. Although the double-chamber EBFC has many advantages and
uses, the diaphragm will increase the internal resistance and volume of the cell and
reduce its output performance. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid
to the research of single-chamber EBFC. Single-chamber EBFC uses O2 in the air as the
cathode substrate. Katz et al. [20] constructed the first single-chamber EBFC. Fig. 2G is a
schematic diagram of the structure of this EBFC. It consisted of an anode functionalized
by GOD and a cathode modified with cytochrome c and cytochrome oxidase. The
enzymatic selectivity was used to eliminate the crossover problem and the anode and
cathode were allowed to be as close as possible without physically short-circuiting.

According to different electron transfer mechanisms, EBFC can be divided into DET and
mediator electron transfer (MET). DET is a process in which enzymes can transfer

12
electrons to electrodes. In the DET mechanism, enzyme conversion and electrode
reactions cannot be regarded as separate reactions. As mentioned by Marcus, using an
electron tunneling mechanism, DET depends on the structure of the enzyme, the
orientation of the enzyme, and the distance of electron transfer. In most cases, the active
center of the enzyme is deeply buried in the protein structure, and is often too far away
from the electrode to allow effective electron transfer. In order to overcome the kinetic
barrier of electron transfer, a mediator is introduced into the catalytic system as an
electron shuttle to transfer electrons to the electrode surface. This process is called MET.
The mediator is a small molecule or polymer with appropriate redox potential and
activity. The electron transfer efficiency and output power of DET are generally lower
than those of MET. However, recent studies have suggested the possibility that the
performance of DET-EBFCs can outperform that of MET-EBFCs [30], [31]. More notably,
DET-EBFC is mediator-free, and its simple cell structure is conducive to large-scale
applications.

At present, a hybrid energy-harvesting system (HEHS) composed of triboelectric

nanogenerators and glucose fuel cells can simultaneously collect biomechanical energy
and biochemical energy in a simulated human fluid [32]. In order to collect energy more
efficiently, Li's group has explored implantable energy harvesters (IEHs) and self-
powered implantable medical electronics (SIMEs) [33], [34]. The current problems
include limited power supply capacity, restricted miniaturization, and difficulties to
maintain the stable performance and long-term in vivo biocompatibility of the device.
Although EBFC shows promising applications as power supplies for various devices, it
also faces some challenges such as low output power and poor stability. Currently,
improvements can be made in the following ways: (1) improve the electron transport
between the enzyme and the electrode surface; (2) enhance the stability of the enzyme
immobilized on the electrode surface. The selection of suitable electrode materials can
also be used to improve the performance of EBFC. Nanomaterials have attracted much
attention in recent years because of their characteristics of excellent electrical
conductivity, large specific surface area, good biocompatibility, and unique physical

13
and chemical properties. The large specific surface area can increase the loading capacity
of the enzyme, the good conductivity can improve the electron transmission

between the oxidation-reduction center of the enzyme and the electrode surface, and
the good biocompatibility provides a good microenvironment for the maintenance of
enzyme activity. Based on the above characteristics, nanomaterials can effectively

solve the bottleneck problems of EBFC in practical applications such as low power
density and short service life. In addition, EBFC can provide power for medical implants,
biosensors and other devices. Compared with other recent review articles, including fuel
cell-based SPSs for biochemical detection, nanostructured material-based BFCs, etc [35],
[36], [37], this article also focuses on the application of EBFC in SPSs as well as
implantable power supplies and discusses the classification of SPSs based on EBFCs in
more details, such as enzyme inhibition effect, substrate effect, steric effect, enzyme
loading capacity and gene regulation. Finally, the challenges and prospects of the
technology in the future development are further discussed.

14
 BIO BATTERY USING HUMAN BLOOD

Figure 5.9

batteries that can be charged and recharged with the help of our blood and sweat.-
Scientists from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [RPI] have lately created such a
battery that can use human body fluids like blood, sweat and also urine as an electrolyte
for the battery. According to their research, they prefer to distinguish such a battery as
a bio-battery that run on organic compounds similar to body fluids.The battery is
essentially made up of cellulose and is thus defined to be a form of paper. The rest of it
is made up of aligned carbon nanotubes. This will help the paper to obtain its conductive
abilities and thus will also cause the battery to be light weight and also small in size. As
the electrolyte is available as long as humans are alive, this type of battery is also ideal
for medical applications. This battery can also be made in the shape of long sheets,
which can later be designed in the shape of custom batteries. These long sheets can be
joined together to provide power for medical equipments like pacemakers, and other
advanced prosthetics. This will also be a stepping stone to a much more advanced
artificial heart. Due to its small size, the battery can easily be setup under the human
skin without much discomfort. The body fluids which are used for this battery includes
blood, sugar and also human blood glucose.

15
As the ionic liquid used for these batteries work at higher and lower temperatures [from
almost -100 degrees Fahrenheit to almost 300 degrees Fahrenheit], this technology is
also applicable to mechanical innovations.The RPI researchers also claim that their
battery will be apt for higher energy applications. It can also be used as a super capacitor,
a component which causes large, quick bursts of energy. As the composite of the battery
are not any external chemicals, the battery is very much environmental friendly.The
researchers are trying to figure out the best possible way of production and are also
trying to increase its efficiency. Hope, this new innovation will be a success and become
a stepping stone for the upcoming technology boost.We cannot think of a world without
batteries. We use batteries for our everyday use like mobile phones, digital cameras,
remote controls and so on. But still we cannot tolerate the fact that these batteries die
with time. They may have to be either replaced or recharged. Some of them are even
heavy as well as bulky that you cannot just carry around. A clear solution to all this is the
introduction of batteries that can be charged and recharged with the help of our blood
and sweat. Scientists from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [RPI] have lately created
such a battery that can use human body fluids like blood, sweat and also urine as an
electrolyte for the battery. According to their research, they prefer to distinguish such a
battery as a bio-battery that run on organic compounds similar to body fluids.

The battery is essentially made up of cellulose and is thus defined to be a form of paper.
The rest of it is made up of aligned carbon nanotubes. This will help the paper to obtain
its conductive abilities and thus will also cause the battery to be light weight and also
small in size.As the electrolyte is available as long as humans are alive, this type of
battery is also ideal for medical applications. This battery can also be made in the shape
of long sheets, which can later be designed in the shape of custom batteries. These long
sheets can be joined together to provide power for medical equipments like pacemakers,
and other advanced prosthetics. This will also be a stepping stone to a much more
advanced artificial heart. Due to its small size, the battery can easily be

16
setup under the human skin without much discomfort. The body fluids which are used
for this battery includes blood, sugar, sweat, and also human blood glucose. As the ionic
liquid used for these batteries work at higher and lower temperatures [from almost -100
degrees Fahrenheit to almost 300 degrees Fahrenheit], this technology is also applicable
to mechanical innovations.

The RPI researchers also claim that their battery will be apt for higher energy
applications. It can also be used as a super capacitor, a component which causes large,
quick bursts of energy. As the composite of the battery are not any external chemicals,
the battery is very much environmental friendly.

The researchers are trying to figure out the best possible way of production and are also
trying to increase its efficiency. Hope, this new innovation will be a success and become
a stepping stone for the upcoming technology boost.

17
TYPES OF BIO BATTERY

➢ Based on types of agents which are involved in the breakdown of substrate

following are the two main types of Bio battery. We know that breakdown of
substrate produces protons as well as electrons. This results into generation of
electricity.

➢ Enzymatic Bio-Battery: Enzymes (Biochemical agents) are used for breakdown of

substrate.

➢ Microbial Bio-Battery: Micro-organisms (electric bacteria, escherichia coli etc.) are

used for breakdown of substrate.
Other types of Bio-battery include cellulose based bio-batteries, body fluid based bio-
batteries etc.

18
 CONSTRUCTION

Figure 6.0
The figure-6 depicts construction of Bio battery. As shown it consists of anode, cathode,
electrolyte and separator. All the components are layered on top of the other layers.
The anode is negative and it is located on top of battery. The cathode is positive and is
located on bottom. Electrons enter into the battery from anode terminal and Currents
flow out from the battery from cathode terminal.

Electrolyte is present between the anode and cathode. It has separator which is used to
keep anode and cathode separate to each other in order to avoid any short circuit.

Bio-battery is different than conventional battery. Here biological enzymes are used for
anode and cathode as catalysts. Enzymes and electronic mediators are fixed on both
cathode and anode terminals.

19
 WORKING

he figure-6.1 depicts working of Bio battery. The system is designed such that it
allows flow of electrons and protons. This will generate electricity. Movement of
ptotons occurs due to moving force. This movement is known as current. Flow of
electrons happen from anode to cathode and current will flow from cathode to
anode. Figure 6.32

Let us understand Bio-battery working operation:

• As shown glucose is used on anode side and enzyme on cathode side.
• Glucose gets broken into protons(H+) and electrons(e-).
• The protons move to cathode side through separator and electrons move to cathode
side through mediator.
• Enzymes are used at cathode which produces water using both electrons and
protons transported from anode part. Oxygen reduction reaction is being applied here.
• Above reactions will create electrons (e-) and protons (H+) in the system. As a result
of this, electric energy is generated.

20
Figure 6.1

21
 ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

‘Following are the advantages of Bio Battery:

• It allows instant recharge compare to all the other batteries.

• These batteries keep themselves charged with the help of continuous supply of

glucose or sugar. They do not require any external power supply.

• It can be made using readily available fuel.

• It has high energy density.

• It can be used easily at room tempearture.

• The flexible paper prototype is used as implantable power source.

• They are used as clean alternate re-newable power source due to the fact that they

are source of non-toxic and non-flammable fuel.

• They do not cause any explosions. Hence they are safe to use.

• They do not cause any leakage.

Following are the disadvantages of Bio Battery:

• They are less likely to retain most of their energy compare to conventional

batteries e.g. lithium based.

• They are not suitable for long term usage and storage.

22
 FEATURES & SPECIFICATIONS

The bio batteries are stacked in single or a multi cell prototype. The packaging aspects
of the bio-fuel cells are also analyzed and the found that relatively little work has been
done in the engineering development of bio-fuel cells.The single cell and six cell bio
battery packaging is as shown in the figure below

Fig -14: Single Cell Bio battery

Fig -15: Six Cell Bio battery

23
The Bio battery has greater than six months shelf life at +55°C (results from 6 test cells).
Significant increase over enzyme in free solution (denatured at 40°C).. This storage and
operating performance is shown in the graphs below.

Figure 6.8

Graph 1: Temperature Vs Current density of battery

The single cell type bio battery prototype has a power density of approximately 10 mili
wat per square cm at the current density of 25 mA per square cm providing voltage of
about 800 mV. While the six cell stack has apower density of approximately 0.25 mili
watt per square cm at the current density of 125 mA per square cm providing voltage of
about 2 volts.

Rapid progress has led to state of the art power and current densities of 9mW/cm2 and
35mA/cm2.

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 Figure 6.9

Graph 2: Progress of performance

Devices (3 cells) show stable current (>1.5mA/cm2) over 72 hrs continuous operation
with 160μL/min of fuel recirculation. The current density versus operating time graph
is shown in the graph below.

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Graph 3: Performance with respect to Shelf life

Figure 7.0

APPLICATIONS

Following are the applications of Bio Battery:

• Used as portable charging in cell phones, soldier power etc.

• Used in medical implants e.g. pace makers, insulin pumps etc.

• Used in disaster relief e.g. generators, remote power etc.

• It is also used in toys and greeting cards.

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 FUTURE SCOPE

Improved design and performance leads to 50X higher volumetric power density over

existing prototype .The longerterm goal in this area is to further enhance performance

to ultimately develop batteries suitable for notebook computers and other mobile

devices. While many technological challenges still remain, Bio Battery has great

potential as a next-generation energy device. Advantages include its excellent

harmony with the environment as a product fueled by a carbohydrate (glucose) having

high energy density. Sony will continue to work toward the commercialization of this

technology in the near future, initially for use in toys and other low-power products.

Bio-batteries have a very bright future ahead of them as test productions and research

have been increasing over recent years. They serve as a new form of energy that is

proving to be environmentally friendly, as well as successful, in producing and

reserving energy. Fully-integrated demonstrations are to be executed in close

collaboration with customer, for relevant applications.[

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 CONCLUTION

The Bio batteries are High performing, stable, and reproducible enzymatic fuel cell
technology developed over last 5 years. The Scaled-up demonstration of Bio-Battery
powering electronic circuit (performed at both Power Sources and Army Science Confs).
Fully-integrated Bio-Battery charging prototypes are already developed. Funding
secured from multiple Department of Defense (DOD) agencies for multiple target
applications over the next 3-5 years.

While many exciting announcements have been made in the field of bio-batteries, it may
be some time before we see them replacing nickel-cadmium, lithium-ion or the several
other types of traditional batteries. Even so, the small, flexible, long- lasting and
environmentally friendly battery technologies discussed here show the great possibilities
researchers see in bio-batteries, especially for the field of medicine The technology
generates electricity by turning shredded paper into sugar which in turn is used as
fuel. If brought to market,

the innovation could allow the public to top up the power of their mobile devices using
waste material.

Compared to conventional batteries, such as lithium batteries, bio-batteries are less likely
to retain most of their energy. This causes a problem when it comes to long term usage
and storage of energy for these batteries. However, researchers are continuing to develop
the battery in order to make it a more practical replacement for current batteries and
sources of energy.

The bio-batteries are environmentally friendly as they did not use harmful chemicals or
metals. . With that in mind, scientists seem to be exploring every possible option in bio-
battery and fuel-cell technology.
They serve as a new form of energy that is proving to be environmentally friendly, as well
as successful, in producing and reserving energy. Although the batteries are still being
tested before being commercially sold, several research teams and engineers are working
to further advance the development of these batteries.

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 REFERENCES

[1]. Www..fespa.com/news/blogs/laurel.../photosynthesis-bio- batteries.html

[2].INHABITAT,2007:
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/09/04/sony-biobattery-runs- entirely-on-sugar/.
[3]. http://nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid = 4102, NIH selects Purdueto use phi29 DNA
packaging motor for national nanomedicine development center.
[4].http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200708/07074E
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