Sony booth operator demonstrates the bio battery (via Sony)
"This is the same mechanism with which termites eat wood to get energy." - Sony public relations manager Chisato Kitsukawa.
Like a school science project, Sony invited children to take scraps of paper and throw it into a cup of water+enzymes to power an electric fan at an environmental fair in Tokyo.
This "bio-battery" concept works like a fuel cell. The paper (cardboard) is broken down into releasing the cellulose, a type of glucose sugar. A secondary stage of enzymes takes the sugar and creates hydrogen ions and electrons. The electrons are collected for power the fan while the hydrogen ions are allowed to permeate a catalyst and combine with air (oxygen in it) to produce water.
We will not see this process outside demo and experiments for some time. The low-power output can handle simple digital-music players, but not much else. Kitsukawa stated, "Bio batteries are environmentally friendly and [has a] great potential."
The paper and the enzyme are the fuel. Production of each component would require processing that may counteract the environmental savings. Nothing is that free.
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