New battery technology converts sugar water into electricity

Thursday, September 20, 2007 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: fuel cells, portable electronics, health news

(NewsTarget) Researchers at St. Louis University in Missouri have developed a type of fuel cell that can produce electricity from almost any type of sugar. The scientists successfully tested the new cell with a glucose solution, carbonated soft drinks, sweetened drink mixes and even tree sap.

The biodegradable cell runs best off of the simple glucose solution, and it runs worst off of carbonated beverages, which caused it to weaken.

The research was funded by the Department of Defense, which is interested in developing ways to charge portable electronic devices in battlefield or emergency situations where electricity is not readily available. But the researchers have also suggested that the fuel cell could be used to replace lithium-ion batteries in portable electronics such as computers and cell phones. Lead researcher Shelley Minteer estimates that the cell could be ready for consumer use within three to five years.

Fuel cells are distinct from the electrochemical cells commonly used in batteries; electrochemical cells generate electricity from a closed system (metal rods in ionic solutions), whereas fuel cells actually consume their fuel source, which must be periodically replaced. The cell developed by Minteer's team consumes sugar and leaves behind a handful of byproducts, primarily water. The researchers have suggested that a battery constructed from the cell could contain easily replaceable cartridges filled with a sugar solution.

Minteer said that she has successfully used the prototype battery -- about the size of a postage stamp -- to power a handheld calculator.

Fuel cells running off of hydrogen or hydrocarbons have become a popular area of alternative energy research -- but, in many cases, technical problems have ruled them out as a practical energy source. The smallest commercially available fuel cell is one made by Toshiba, which uses undiluted methanol as fuel. In December 2006, Samsung announced that it would make methanol fuel cells for laptops commercially available by the end of this year.