IIT Kharagpur student made a battery using sewage water
A research scholar of IIT-Kharagpur has developed a disposable and flexible battery powered by bacteria from sewage water, the institute said in a statement. For the environment-friendly battery cell to start energy production, sewage water containing bacteria needs to be injected into it. The project won the first prize and a cash award of Rs. 10 lakh in an Innovation Contest recently. Here's more.
So what is the battery made up of?
The battery is made using air cathode and the anode can be prepared from any simple carbon-based materials. Currently, the power from the device is in the range of few microwatts. Stacking multiple devices can further boost the power and drive several practical applications. Unlike other batteries which are heavy, this device developed by Ramya Veerubhotla, is made on a paper platform.
How does the battery work?
Normally microbial fuel cells can take as-long-as couple of days to start power production as the bacteria need to get adjusted to the environment. "But for this device, the power production starts within 10sec," said Ramya, PhD student in the Department of Biotechnology. "It may be difficult to power household devices with this device, but it can power certain electronic-components," she added.
She won the first prize for this innovation
Veerubhotla presented her research paper from IITKGP's Team Electrodes at KPIT Sparkle 2018, the annual National Design and Development Innovation Contest recently. The project won the first prize and a cash award of Rs. 10 lakh.
