Crustaceans could replace lithium in batteries

 TCD:

Maryland is already famous for its crabs — but researchers at the University of Maryland are looking to give that distinction an entirely different meaning.

A team of scientists at the school’s Center for Materials Innovation found that crustaceans like crabs and lobsters contain a chemical in their shells called chitin, which can be used to power batteries when combined with zinc.

Crustacean shells packed with this chemical are typically thrown out en masse by restaurants that have no other use for them. But researchers believe this waste could serve as a powerful resource in the search for more sustainable batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries, the common kind found in most of our cellphones and laptops, can take hundreds of thousands of years to break down after they’re used up — not to mention the devastating environmental impact lithium extraction has on our planet.

But these shellfish batteries are biodegradable and can decompose in soil after just five months, leaving behind zinc, which can be recycled.

The University of Maryland’s study also found that chitin-zinc batteries were 99.7% efficient after over 400 hours of use, as reported by The Guardian, and that these batteries could likely be produced cheaply at scale.
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I recall the first time I ate crab meat in Maryland.  It was pretty tasty, but it seemed like a lot of work to get to it.  It will be interesting to see if crab-based batteries become a thing.  We lived in Florida when I was a preschooler and I remember that the driveways were covered in oyster shells rather than rock.  I don't know if they still do that.