In line with Binghamton College‘s Professor Seokheun “Sean” Choi, engineering breakthroughs usually demand trial and error, however sometimes the answer is nearer than anticipated – even downstairs. Over the previous decade, Choi has developed bacteria-powered biobatteries, however progress has been constrained by materials limitations.
Whereas in search of a customized stainless-steel part, Choi found that Assistant Professor Dehao Liu – only a ground under – makes a speciality of laser powder mattress fusion (LPBF), a technique best for printing stainless-steel microarchitectures. “LPBF is good for biobatteries as a result of it allows high-precision, customizable 3D buildings with advanced geometries, important for maximizing floor space and power density,” Liu mentioned.
Their collaboration, printed in Superior Power & Sustainability Analysis, describes biobatteries designed to energy small, autonomous units like IoT sensors. Different contributors embrace ECE Assistant Professor Anwar Elhadad, PhD pupil Yang “Lexi” Gao, and Liu’s PhD college students Guangfa Li and Jiaqi Yang. The challenge is funded by Choi’s 2024 NSF grant.
Endospores, a dormant type of micro organism, gasoline the biobattery by way of an electrochemical response. For optimum efficiency, the anode (the place micro organism reside) should be 3D so the microbes can thrive. “A two-dimensional anode will not be environment friendly,” Choi mentioned.
Stainless-steel mesh proved higher than carbon or polymer-based supplies, that are fragile and poor conductors. However industrial mesh lacks management over porosity and roughness. LPBF solved that. “We noticed the potential right here,” Choi mentioned. Utilizing 3D printing, in addition they fabricated parts just like the sealing cowl and cathode, assembling the battery “like Lego bricks.”
The batteries will be stacked to spice up energy, reaching practically 1 milliwatt – sufficient to run a 3.2-inch LCD. It’s one in every of Choi’s highest-yielding designs. Plus, chrome steel permits for micro organism reuse: “We confirmed after quite a lot of makes use of that energy ranges are maintained.”
The Binghamton group’s subsequent steps: unify the printing of all parts and develop an influence administration system to optimize charging and discharging – like a photo voltaic cell.
