Binchotan: The future battery

Original Research
Binchotan: The future battery
Haruno Murakami, Kentaro Asai, Tatsuhiko Watanabe, Naoko Oyobe,
Mio Oe, Yuya Hiramatu
Jishukan Senior High School, Toyohashi, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]
DOI: 10.4103/0974-6102.107616
ABSTRACT
This group of students aimed to develop a more efficient type of binchotan battery.
They did this by setting up several batteries and changing one of the electrolytic
solution, the electrode material or the material of the conducting wire. They
plotted graphs of voltage against time as each variance discharged. The higher
the voltage and the longer it endured, the better the material. They found the
binchotan battery works best using sodium sulphate as the electrolytic solution,
platinum wire, and binchotan wrapped in visking tubes.
Introduction
Experiment
Based on past research by seniors, this project
aims to develop a more efficient binchotan
(traditional oak wood charcoal) battery.[1] When
a direct current (DC) is passed through the
electrodes, electrons flow through the electrolytic
solution from the anode to the cathode. As they
pass through water molecules, the water molecules
are electrolyzed to form hydrogen and oxygen
through the following reactions:
The basic experimental set up was solid binchotan,
wrapped in visking tubes, was used as electrodes,
aqueous sodium sulphate was used as the electrolyte,
and copper was used for the conducting wire [Figure 1].
Charging time for the setup was three minutes under
fixed conditions. Effectiveness was determined by
plotting voltage against time as the battery was
subsequently discharged, where a higher voltage for
a longer duration meant that the battery was more
effective. The experiments varied composition of
electrolytic fluid, electrode material, and conducting
wire material to find the optimal combination.
i) Varying Electrolytic solution:
For this setup, electrolyte solution was varied
from sodium sulphate, trisodium phosphate, and
phosphoric acid.
ii) Varying Electrode:
2H2O + 2 e- → H2 + 2OH
2H2O → 4H+ + 4e- + O2 (O’Leary, 2000)[2]
This is how a binchotan battery works. Current flows
through the wires connected to the terminals to
complete the circuit for the reaction to proceed.
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Figure 1: A schematic diagram of a Binchotan battery
Figure 2: A graph of potential difference against time as the battery
discharges with different electrolytic fluids
Graphite as an electrode was compared to
carbon sticks.
iii) Varying Conducting Wire:
Copper wire was compared against stainless
steel wire, enamel wire, and platinum wire.
Results and Discussion
In experiment i, sodium sulphate and disodium
phosphate showed good results [Figure 2]. In experiment
ii, binchotan was shown to be better than graphite sticks
[Figure 3]. During these experiments, it is worthwhile to
note that after many charges, the conducting wire began
to corrode. Hence, we compared some materials in the
experiment iii for conducting wire. As a result, platinum
showed the best efficiency [Figure 4].
Figure 3: A graph of potential difference against time as the battery
discharges with different electrodes
Figure 4: A graph of potential difference against time as the battery
discharges with different conducting wire
Conclusion
The binchotan battery works best using sodium
sulphate as the electrolytic solution, platinum wire, and
binchotan wrapped in visking tubes. However, platinum
wire is expensive, so a low-cost conducting wire like
copper would be more desirable than platinum.
References
1. Based on a research on fuel cells in Jishukan High School in
1997.
2. O’Leary, D. (2000). Electrolysis of Aqueous Solutions. Retrieved
from University College Cork: http://www.ucc.ie/academic/chem/
dolchem/html/dict/electrol.html. [Last accessed on 2012 Feb 2]
About the Authors
Yuya Hiramatsu wants to be a doctor and helps injured and sick people.
Mio Oe and Naoko Oyobe want to be pharmacologists and hope to make new and useful medicines.
Tatsuhiko Watanabe and Kentaro Asai want to be scientists. Tatsuhiko likes the idea of discovering something new,
whereas Kentaro wants to devote himself to improvements in modern science.
Haruno Murakami hopes to be an engineer. She wants to develop new materials that are useful and ecofriendly.
26 Young Scientists Journal | 2013 | Issue 13