Name : Muhammad Noble Hidayatullah

NIM : 0610 4041 1389

Class : 3 EG A D IV Energy Engineering Program
Article about Energy

Scientists Discover Way To Recharge Laptops And Cell Phones

With Soda Pop And Vegetable Oil
Researchers looking for new, cheap energy sources might want to look
in the food pantry and junk food aisle at the grocery story. Sugary drinks as
well as vegetable oils and plain old table sugar could one day be used to
recharge cell phones, laptops and other portable electronics.
Sound crazy? Not according to scientists who recently reported a
remarkable "first" at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical
Society (ACS). They've created the first fuel cell that produces electricity with
technology borrowed from natural biological powerhouses. These innovative
biofuel cells, the researchers believe, can transform sugar and fats into energy
for running a host of machines and devices.
"This is the first demonstration of a new class of biofuel cells," Saint
Louis University chemist Shelley Minteer, Ph.D., who presented the report,
said in a press statement. "When further developed, these devices have the
potential for replacing disposable and rechargeable batteries in a wide variety
of consumer electronics and other products. It is the first such device based on
one of the microscopic parts of the billions upon billions of cells that make up
the body."
She explained the human body has internal structures termed
organelles ("little organs") -- and some of the most important organelles are
the membrane-enclosed mitochondria. Sometimes referred to as the
powerhouses behind cells, mitochondria transform calories from food into
chemical energy that the body needs to sustain life. Specifically, the
mitochondria use a chemical called pyruvate, formed when sugar and fats are
digested, to make another biological substance called ATP (adenosine
triphosphate). ATP stores energy until the body needs it. Every day, the
mitochondria in a normal human produce and recycle an amount of ATP
approximately the equivalent of a person's body weight.
What does this have to do with recharging electronic devices? Dr.
Minteer explained that understanding this energy-producing biological system
opened the possibility of using this knowledge to develop the first
mitochondria-type fuel cell. And that's just what she and her team did.
The device is made of a thin layer of mitochondria sandwiched
between two electrodes, including a gas-permeable electrode. So far, Dr.
Minteer has run biofuel batteries on glucose, flat sodas, sweetened drink mixes
and tree sap -- ordinary table sugar (sucrose) dissolved in water seems to work
the best. One of the first applications for this new kind of biofuel energy cell
could be a portable cell phone charger, similar to the quick chargers already on
the market that allow users to instantly charge their cell phones while on the
go. Ideally, Dr. Minteer said, these chargers will contain special cartridges that
are pre-filled with a sugar solution.
In addition to revving up electronic devices, the scientists also think
mitochondria fuel cells could be used as power sources in wireless sensors for
temperature monitoring, motion detection, and for monitoring the location of

vehicles in a fleet. The new biofuel cells also could work well as a power
source for stamp-sized sensors designed to detect hidden explosives, the
researchers noted.

Baker S.L, 2010. Scientists Discover Way To Recharge Laptops And Cell
Phones With Soda Pop And Vegetable Oil
http://www.naturalnews.com/029714_sugar_energy.html