Creek Mud alone with "Mud Batteries" to power small sensor devices continuously for more than a year

Professor Masato Tominaga and his group, Department of Chemistry and Applied Chemistry, Saga University, have succeeded in continuously operating a sensor device with a transmitter for more than one year using a “mud battery” (20 cm long and 3 cm in diameter as a stick shaped) placed in a container (about the size of a flowerpot) containing mud collected from a creek near the university. The “mud battery” was installed in the flowerpot.

The sensor device is equipped with temperature and humidity sensors. The “Mud Battery” generates electricity using organic matter contained in mud as nutrients, but no nutrients or other substances were added during the process. This experiment was conducted in a 28 ˚C constant-temperature room, but it has been confirmed that the device can be operated outdoors in winter.

In the future, it is expected to be applied as a compact power source for various sensor measurements placed in rice paddy fields, reservoirs, creeks, etc., and as a compact power source for green infrastructure to provide added value. Currently, water is required, so if a “mud battery” can be developed that can be used in soil with low moisture content, the range of applications would be much broader.

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「泥の電池」を使ってクリーク泥のみで小型センサデバイスを１年以上の連続駆動 – Saga University Press Release(Written in Japanese)