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Industry News
Institution of
Electronics
FULLY-DISSOLVABLE News
BATTERY RUNS ON
PROBIOTICS
Scientists at Birmingham University have designed Technically these microbial batteries use bacteria to
a battery that works for a short time and then safely generate electricity by breaking down nutrients and
dissolves away, leaving no harmful residue behind. releasing electrons. Ideally the bacteria are of the
probiotic type commonly found in food and health
It runs on so-called ‘probiotics’, the same type of
products, and a blend of fifteen probiotic strains has
bacteria found in yoghurt supplements, making
been used to produce the said battery.
it a useful invention for such applications as
medical implants, environmental sensors and other Once the probiotics are activated, usually by
disposable devices that only require power for a few moisture or acidity, they begin digesting nutrients
minutes or hours, collectively known as transient and subsequently release electricity. This effect was
electronics. demonstrated for the first time by the researchers.
The battery is built on water-soluble paper, which
dissolves when wet. A layer of probiotic bacteria is
then combined with special electrode materials. A
conductive polymer known as polypyrrole, combined
with zinc oxide nanoparticles , was used for the anode
while Prussian Blue mixed with manganese dioxide
was used for the cathode.
The battery is printed or drawn onto the paper using
wax or graphite. It can then be adjusted to change
the operating time, ranging from four minutes to a
hundred minutes, by changing the lengths of the
battery’s internal paths.
The battery can be prevented from activating too
early by coating it in a pH-sensitive membrane, such INSTITUTION OF ELECTRONICS NEWS:
that it will only begin operating once it has entered a
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The power generated is generally of the order of 4µW,
sufficient to power electronics like temporary sensors MASTERS DEGREES - CLIMATE SOLUTIONS 42
or wireless signals.
THE PLAN TO POWER CAT USING LOCAL RENEWABLES 43
Reference: Miles, S., ‘Creating a fully-dissolvable Battery the runs on
Probiotics’, Electronic Specifier, 21st. July MAKE YOUR BUSINESS THE FIRST TO BE FOUND ON GOOGLE 44
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