ARN

Japan's Sony generates power from paper

While academic research has previously taken place on this kind of power generation, proof-of-concept demonstrations are rare

Japanese electronics giant Sony has revealed technology that generates electricity from shredded paper.

As an environmental products fair opened in Tokyo, Sony invited children to put paper into a mixture of water and enzymes, shake it up and wait for a few minutes to see the liquid become a source of electricity, powering a small fan.

"This is the same mechanism with which termites eat wood to get energy," said Chisato Kitsukawa, a public relations manager at Sony.

While academic research has previously taken place on this kind of power generation, proof-of-concept demonstrations are rare, he said.

The performance was part of Sony's drive to develop a sugar-based "bio battery" that turns glucose into power.

Shredded paper or pieces of corrugated board were used at the fair to provide cellulose, a long chain of glucose sugar found in the walls of green plants.

Enzymes are used to break the chain and the resulting sugar is then processed by another group of enzymes in a process that provides hydrogen ions and electrons.

The electrons travel through an outer circuit to generate electricity, while the hydrogen ions combine with oxygen from the air to create water.

"Bio batteries are environmentally friendly and have great potential" as they use no metals or harmful chemicals, Kitsukawa said.

But the technology is a long way from commercial viability because of its low power output. It is currently sufficient to run digital music players, but not powerful enough to replace commonly used batteries, he said.

Sony first unveiled test sugar battery technology in 2007 and has since reduced the battery's size to a small sheet.

Another sugar battery was on display at the fair embedded in a Christmas card, which played music when drops of fruit juice were added to it.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: Sony

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: green IT, sony
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
ACA Pacific , Alloys , Anixter , Aquion , ASI Solutions , Bluechip Infotech , Compucon Computers , Dicker Data , Leader Computers , Multimedia Technology , Xpress I.T. , Dynamic Supplies
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/transition-systems-australia/2010-11-15_345_new-wan-optimisation-available
Transition Systems Australia

NEW. WAN Optimisation Available.

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.