Ancient red dye powers new 'green' battery: Chemists use plant extract in eco-friendly, sustainable lithium-ion battery

This article is about chemists who found a new “green” battery, which is more environmentally friendly. Researchers from The city University of New York and Rice University worked together on this new project. They found that a plant once used in the old world has ingredients, purpurin, which were extracted from the roots of the matter of the plant. This was used in Asia and the Middle East over 3,500 years ago as a pink red and orange dye, which worked on fabrics and tiles. The batteries made from this substance work as any other battery would. Currently, batteries are made of cobalt, which is very expensive to  mine, so this plant alternative is a much better resource.

            The batteries made from this plant are more tedious to make, but they are much better for the environment. The batteries would soak up carbon dioxide  and eliminate the disposal problems that come along with normal batteries. Since the resources used to make these new batteries are from the environment, they are not as harsh and in the long run won’t have as many problems as normal batteries. This innovation will come in a few years and will be better for everyone, especially the earth.

            I thought the author did a very good job in writing this article. He was very clear as to what the batteries are made up of now and how they will be made in the future. Using this compare and contrast made it easier for the reader to follow along with the technical terms. I wish the author had made it clearer as to how this would impact our future as battery customers.

City College of New York. "Ancient red dye powers new 'green' battery: Chemists use plant extract in eco-friendly, sustainable lithium-ion battery." ScienceDaily, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.