At present, in order to solve the problem of global warming, the new energy industry has become one of the most rapidly developing areas in recent years. The rapid development of new energy for the demand for batteries also shows a multiplier of growth, and the use and consumption of a large number of batteries has caused a new round of environmental crisis. Recently, some scientists said that it has launched a new battery, which is easier to decompose than the current lithium battery.
crayfish
Liangbing Hu, director of the Center for Materials Innovation at the University of Maryland, said in a press release: "A large number of batteries are being produced and consumed, raising the possibility of environmental problems. For example, polypropylene and polycarbonate separators widely used in lithium-ion batteries take hundreds or thousands of years to degrade and increase the environmental burden. He introduced a battery they invented that is more easily biodegradable than lithium-ion power supplies. What is more special about this battery is that it is mainly made of shrimp shells, crab shells and other materials.
Batteries are charged and discharged without electrolytes, and most current battery fluids use flammable or corrosive chemicals that are not only environmentally unfriendly, but also not easily degraded. The team used a gel electrolyte that is found in a biomaterial called chitosan and is easily biodegradable.
Environmental protection battery research results
Hu said: "Chitosan is a derivative of chitin. Chitin comes from many sources, including the cell walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of crustaceans, and squid. "However, the richest sources of chitin are mainly in the exoskeletons of crustaceans, such as pink shrimp tails, crimson lobster carapaces, and crab shells.
Environmental protection battery research results
In a way, the team's study solved both problems at the same time. According to a 2015 study by Nature, about 6 million to 8 million tonnes of discarded crab, shrimp and lobster shells were produced worldwide. Crabs' meat accounts for only about 40% of its mass, which is bound to produce a lot of food waste, and this research can not only make these discarded shell wastes available, but also produce more environmentally friendly and decomposable batteries. According to experiments, chitosan can completely decompose within five months and produce zinc metal that can be recycled, greatly reducing the pollution caused by current lithium batteries to the environment.