3D-printed battery made from mushrooms supplies power for sensors
Swiss researchers have developed a living battery that can power a sensor in the environment, for example. After use, it is biodegradable.
3D-printed battery made from mushrooms: biodegradable
(Image: Empa)
Sensors that collect data in the environment are practical. One problem, however, is the power supply. Swiss researchers may have found a solution: a 3D-printed battery that is also biodegradable.
The battery – is a microbial fuel cell to be precise – uses the metabolism of two fungi to generate electricity. The cell developed at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) does not generate a lot of electricity: the voltage is 300 to 600 millivolts, the developers write in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.
However, this is sufficient to operate a temperature sensor, for example, as used in agriculture or environmental research. With four of these cells, the sensor could be supplied with energy for two and a half days.
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The cell works with fungi
Such microbial fuel cells are not new. Normally, bacteria are used. "For the first time, we have combined two types of fungi to create a functioning fuel cell", explained Empa researcher Carolina Reyes.
For the anode, the team from Empa's Cellulose and Wood Materials Laboratory uses normal baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), whose metabolism releases electrons. In the cathode, the velvety tramete (Trametes pubescens), a white rot fungus, is used. It produces an enzyme that captures the electrons and passes them on to the consumer.
The battery is manufactured using 3D printing from a cellulose-based ink with the fungal cells mixed in. Carbon black and graphite flakes are added to ensure electrical conductivity. The ink has to fulfill various conditions, said Gustav Nyström: the fungi have to grow well in it. It also had to be "easy to extrude without the fungal cells dying – and, of course, it had to be electrically conductive and biodegradable."
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The biodegradation is partly done by the fungi: they feed on sugar molecules that are added to the cell. Once the sugar has been used up, they feast on the cellulose. The shell consists of beeswax. The cells can also be stored dry. They are then activated by adding water and nutrients.
In the next step, the Empa team wants to improve its mushroom battery so that it is more efficient and durable, and to look for other types of mushrooms that are suitable for such an application. "Mushrooms are still under-researched and under-utilized, especially in the field of materials science," say Reyes and Nyström.
(wpl)
