Generating Electricity from Sweat... Development of Bio Fuel Cells

Development of Bio Fuel Cell Generating Electricity from Sweat
Power Source for Operating Wearable Devices

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A sports fiber-based biofuel cell that generates electrical energy from sweat secreted by the human body has been developed. When integrated into moisture-wicking and quick-drying clothing materials, it is expected to enable the development of sweat-powered electronic devices or blood glucose sensors.

The National Research Foundation of Korea announced on the 3rd that a research team including Professor Jung-ryeol Park from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sogang University and Professor Hyerim Kim from the Department of Clothing and Textiles at Sookmyung Women's University developed a method to convert glucose contained in sweat into electrical energy. The research results were recently published in the international journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

Generating Electricity from Sweat

The research team transformed the components of a fuel cell into fibers and developed a material that converts glucose in sweat into electrical energy.

This fiber uses carbon fiber coated with glucose oxidase as the oxidation electrode, and carbon fiber entangled with Prussian blue nanoparticles and multi-walled carbon nanotubes as the reduction electrode. Between the electrodes, a sports material utilizing capillary action is positioned to automatically supply sweat as fuel.

When sweat is supplied through capillary flow in the moisture-wicking and quick-drying material, the glucose in the sweat is oxidized by the enzyme on the oxidation electrode, producing electrons. At the same time, hydrogen peroxide generated reacts with functional nanoparticles on the reduction electrode to produce electricity.

Need for Materials That Can Generate Electricity Even After Washing

Professor Park Jung-yeol, Professor Kim Hye-rim of Sookmyung Women's University, Wang Chong, SMART Researcher

The research team stated that this fiber maintained a considerable energy density of 16.7μW/㎠. When the fuel cell was worn on the arm and sweat was produced by brisk walking, it generated enough energy to power an LCD electronic watch. Notably, the energy generation efficiency was higher when a breeze equivalent to a gentle wind moving leaves (0.8 m/s) was present compared to a windless environment. Even with the same fiber material, differences in energy generation efficiency appeared depending on the knitting method.

The research team explained, "Although fiber-based biofuel cells have been developed before, research has mainly focused on electrode materials to improve electrochemical performance. There has been no case demonstrating that a biofuel cell fabricated by controlling capillary flow and evaporation rate through microchannel design in sportswear can supply fuel (sweat) quickly and continuously, thereby generating high-efficiency, high-density energy." However, they added, "For practical use, research on developing durable and efficient fiber-based electrodes that can be utilized even after washing is necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.