by Cyrus Farivar
Cell phones that could be recharged with a shot of Coke, Kool-Aid or even maple syrup might hit the market within five years, using experimental, enzyme-based fuel-cell technologies described in a recent study by Shelley Minteer of Saint Louis University.
Minteer’s team released a similar study nearly four years ago, showing that it was possible to use ethanol, or even shots of tequila, to power fuel cells. At the time, Minteer reported that the research could produce 2 milliwatts of power for each square centimeter of the power-generating membrane within the fuel cell. By using a saturated sugar solution, the power density can go all the way up to 10 milliwatts of power per effective square centimeter, Minteer said.
“The previous system was simpler,” she said. “When you’re making something like ethanol, you start with a sugar and carbohydrate, and you partially break it down to make ethanol — and then we used the ethanol. Whereas here, we can use the sugar directly as it is.”
