Maybe one day, your laptop and your cell phone will run for a month on a shot of gin or vodka, according to researchers who showed their work at the 225th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
From scientists at Saint Louis University comes a gadget fit for a James Bond movie. Imagine 007 sauntering up to the bar, ordering his trademark martini (shaken, not stirred) and, before taking a sip, topping off his cell phone with a few drops of alcohol to recharge the battery.
Researchers have developed a new type of biofuel cell -- a battery that runs off of alcohol and enzymes -- that could replace the rechargeable batteries in everything from laptops to Palm Pilots. Instead of plugging into a fixed power outlet and waiting, these new batteries can be charged instantly with a few milliliters of alcohol.
Biofuel cells have been studied for nearly half a century, but the technology has not advanced to the point of practical use. Instead of using expensive metals to catalyze the power-producing reaction, these cells use enzymes -- molecules found in all living things that speed up the body's chemical processes.
The researchers tested other alcohols.
Shelley Minteer, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry at Saint Louis University who presented the research, and her colleagues are focusing on small-scale applications, with the preliminary fuel cells being no bigger than five square centimeters -- about the size of a postage stamp. "We've tested probably 30 to 50 of the ethanol cells," Minteer says. They have successfully run their cells with vodka, gin, white wine and flat beer ("The fuel cell didn't like the carbonation," Minteer says).
When will we see these batteries? Minteer answers.
While consumer applications are still a few years off, "these results show the applicability of biofuel cell technology and help move the research from a purely academic endeavor to a more practical technology," Minteer says.
For more information, you also can read this New Scientist.com article, "Bio-battery runs on shots of vodka."
Sources: American Chemical Society, March 24, 2003; Celeste Biever, New Scientist.com, March 24, 2003
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