What is a Paper Battery?
There are more than 15 billion batteries in landfills worldwide, according to an article published by the Hamilton Institute. About 89 percent are estimated to be common household batteries, or the alkaline variety. This poses a variety of problems to the environment. Battery acid is highly toxic, heavy metals may leak into the water supply and, if incinerated, the components cause air pollution. The invention of the paper battery has been hailed as an efficient “green,” or environmentally friendly, technology. The battery, which is made of up to 90 percent cellulose, is no thicker than a common sheet of printer paper, about .025 mm (.00098 inches) thick. Because of its composition, the paper battery is completely non-toxic and fully biodegradable. Created in 2007 by a group of students at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, the paper battery is the result of paper infused with carbon nanotubes, which allow the paper to conduct electricity. A carbon nanotube is a sm
