Battery from cotton. The era of lithium is over. When we think of using cotton, the first thing that comes to mind is pillows. Now the pillows use fiber instead of cotton, but it is appreciated. Shimul cotton is considered by all to be the best cotton.
However, no matter what cotton is in the pillow, it has been used in a different way by a company in Japan. You will be surprised to know that a Japanese company called PJP I Limited has made batteries by processing the carbon contained in cotton. Lithium and other minerals are commonly used to make batteries. The use of minerals has a considerable impact on the environment. Therefore, the Japanese company has used this method to reduce pollution in the environment. Inketsu Okina, the head of the Japanese battery manufacturing company, said that they are making batteries very secretly. So they didn’t want to reveal what other material is being used to make this battery apart from the carbon in the cotton. However, he said, battery cells are being made at a temperature of 3000 degrees Celsius. Each battery cell requires only 2 grams of carbon. And 200 grams of carbon is obtained from one kg of cotton in a special process.
This special type of battery has been developed by PJP I Limited with the help of researchers from Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. Carbon is used for the anode in this battery. Also two electrode rods are used. It is through this that the charged particle ions flow. In most cases, graphite is used as the anode rod in batteries. But in this case carbon is being used for that purpose. The method used by this Japanese company is brand new and sustainable.
The company claims that their batteries are 10 times more powerful than ordinary lithium-ion batteries. The company is making anodes using textile waste cotton. In addition to this method, the company is also collecting carbon from plants. However, the original inventor of this method of extracting carbon from cotton is Kyushu University researchers. Incidentally, batteries are basically made up of three basic components. A battery has two electrodes on either side and an electrolyte in the middle. One electrode is positively charged, called the cathode. On the other hand, the negatively charged electrode is called the anode. During use charged ions flow from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte. Electrons flow through the electrical circuit connected to the battery.
Extracting lithium metal from mines requires a lot of water and energy. We get graphite from mines. Graphite also comes from fossil fuels. Extraction from mines has an impact on the environment. But the new method doesn’t require lithium. The Japanese company is planning to bring this new battery to the market now, but before that it is doing several more tests. The company has informed that this battery will be brought to the market in 2025. However, Chinese companies Gokia and Hitachi already make e-bikes with this new battery. With the help of this battery, it is reported that the e-bike can travel 70 km on a single charge.
Incidentally, various countries around the world are conducting research on making environment-friendly batteries using natural resources. The materials used to make batteries are collected from mines. It increases the level of carbon emission. Cobalt is used in many cases in lithium-ion batteries. Cobalt is mined in the African country of Congo. The whole process is quite dangerous. And so, researchers are now looking for alternatives from sea salt water, various types of organic waste to various natural materials.
A company called Stora Enso in Finland has developed battery anodes using lignin carbon. This carbon is found in plant polymers. “Ocean water can serve as a source of battery material,” said Stefano Passerini, a scientist at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm in Germany. A battery capable of transferring sodium ions from sea salt water has been designed. In this particular design, sodium ions can move quickly. Seawater here acts as the cathode or positively charged electrode. There is no anode in this battery. Because sodium does not have a negative charge. Accumulated as neutral or neutral. When energy is needed, the process can be reversed to generate electricity.
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