According to the foreign media theVerge, there are many sayings about lithium and cobalt in battery materials, but some chemists believe that the future battery can be powered by a commonly used dye. This fuel is methylene blue, which has a strong sapphire color. Although the fuel looks pretty, it becomes a harmful substance when it infiltrates the wastewater from the textile mill.
Anjula Kosswattaarachchi, a Ph.D. student in chemistry at the University of Buffalo, worked in textiles at the Institute of Nanotechnology in Sri Lanka, so she is very familiar with the pollution of methylene blue.
During the University of Buffalo, Kosswattaarachchi studied a liquid battery called 'mobile battery', and she also participated in a project dedicated to removing harmful substances from wastewater. At the time, she developed a concept that combines these two concepts. The idea of getting up, and since then has been working on whether methylene blue wastewater can provide energy for these liquid batteries.
The research is still in its early stages, and the research team has not yet studied the real wastewater, but it may indeed be a two-pronged approach. In response, theVerge talked with Kosswattaarachchi about why methylene blue is a problem and how it can become A battery solution. The following is the main access content of theVerge:
Q: Tell me about methylene blue. Is it common? Is it poisonous? Why use it if it is toxic?
A: We use it because it produces a specific color. It is one of the most commonly used fuels. It can even be used as a drug at the right dose. But this proper dose is difficult to obtain, but in In this case it becomes toxic.
It can cause diseases including cancer and genetic mutations. It can also cause damage to the environment, because the dye is easy to see even at very low concentrations. So when it is added, the penetration of sunlight will be blocked. This damages photosynthesis. It may be the most studied dye when it is studied how to remove it from the water.
Q: So your idea is to use methylene blue-containing wastewater in mobile batteries, right? Is it better to re-use water to power the battery instead of extracting it from water?
A: Yes.
Q: Can you explain what the mobile battery is?
A: Simply put, there are two external containers containing liquid electrolyte. The electrolyte is pumped through the center and then a chemical reaction is used to power the battery. This is a relatively new area of research, but the advantage of mobile batteries is safety. They are liquid, so they won't catch fire. Containers can be large, so you can power a lot of things on a large scale. They can store energy for longer.
Q: Where will methylene blue be added?
A: Methylene blue is part of the liquid we are going to store and pump into the container. Normally, you must add salt to the solution to make a chemical reaction. Methylene blue already contains salt in the wastewater.
Q: So what did you find in the experiment?
A: We made a small battery with methylene dye added to the brine in the experiment. It can be used 50 times on a single charge. In addition, it is quite stable.
We calculated that when methylene blue is used as a component of the battery, we can produce 9.6 kJ per liter. In fact, the methylene group must be combined with another material, so we are still studying this material. You also need to use real wastewater samples to start the test. This is the next step.
