New sustainable battery powered by crab shell electrolyte

Research published earlier this month, led by scientists at the University of Maryland in the United States, could help solve an environmental problem posed by the growing demand for renewable energy and electric vehicles: What to do with batteries that aren’t always sustainable? The answer – scientists say – A pile of crab shells.

In an article published in the scientific journal To be importantLead author Liangbing Hu, director of the Center for Materials Innovation at the University of Maryland, explains that making batteries greener was the overall goal of the study. “For example, polypropylene and polycarbonate separators commonly used in lithium-ion batteries, It takes hundreds or thousands of years to degrade”, says the teacher.

Not to mention that some components of these lithium batteries, such as those used in our cell phones, contain cobalt, a mineral that is mined where labor rights violations are blatant.

How are crab shell batteries?

Batteries use a special substance when we use our portable devices. – electrolyte – It acts as an electrical ion conductor between the positive and negative plates while the battery is charging or discharging. The great thing about the new battery is that it works with an electrolyte made of a biological material rather than the flammable or corrosive chemicals normally used. chitosan

Easily biodegradable chitosan is a byproduct of chitin found in crustacean exoskeletons. including crabs, shrimps, and lobstersIt can be easily obtained from seafood waste. You can find it on your desk,” says Hu.

An electrolyte made from this material that makes up about two-thirds of the battery. can be broken down by microbes in five months. this will only leave behind the metallic component, in this case the zinc, which can then be recycled.

ARTICLE – To be important – DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.07.015.