Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel container for a biofuel cell and a biofuel cell system, whereby fuel solution in a battery can be exchanged simply and conveniently without a need for a fuel supply mechanism such as a pump in a fuel cell body.SOLUTION: The fuel container including: a fuel solution storage part in which the fuel solution is stored; a waste liquid storage part in which waste liquid is stored; and a liquid feed mechanism by which the fuel solution is discharged and the solution after use is sucked is used to exchange fuel of the biofuel cell equipped with an electrode having oxygen existing on the surface. Concretely, the fuel solution stored in the fuel solution storage part of the fuel container is poured into the biofuel cell by the fuel feed mechanism, and the solution (waste liquid) after use in the biofuel cell is recovered in the waste liquid storage part.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for designing a variant-type tyrosine-dependent oxidation-reduction enzyme in which the degree of heat-resistance is equal to or more than a predetermined level. SOLUTION: The method for designing a heat-resistant variant-type enzyme includes making the distance between α4-helix and α6-helix in a three-dimensional protein structure smaller than that of a wild-type enzyme by deleting, substituting, adding or inserting one or several amino acids of the amino acid sequence of the wild-type enzyme in a tyrosine-dependent oxidation-reduction enzyme. In the method for designing a heat-resistant variant-type enzyme, it is possible to specially select gluconate dehydrogenase as a tyrosine-dependent oxidation-reduction enzyme. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inquiry system which, when a user of a fuel battery uses a commercial beverage as a fuel of the fuel battery, can simply determine the compatibility of the beverage as a battery fuel. SOLUTION: The system for inquiring the compatibility of a beverage as a battery fuel includes: a retrieval request receiving means (communication interface 19) for receiving the input of beverage information concerned with the beverage and/or fuel battery information concerned with the fuel battery as a retrieval request; a storage means 22 which stores a reference database in which retrieval requests are correlated with the performance data of the fuel battery; a retrieval means 20 which automatically retrieves performance data coincident with the retrieval request from the reference database; and a retrieval answer output means (communication interface 19) for outputting a retrieval answer. COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel cell which can generate electric energy by confining one or more kinds of enzymes and optionally a coenzyme in a small space and carrying out an enzymatic reaction utilizing the space as a reaction zone to thereby remove electrons from glucose or the like efficiently, and which enables the immobilization of the enzyme and optionally the coenzyme onto an electrode readily; and a process for manufacturing the fuel cell.SOLUTION: An enzyme-immobilized electrode is produced by encapsulating an enzyme 13, 14 and a coenzyme 15, which are required for an enzymatic reaction, into a liposome 12 and immobilizing the liposome 12 onto the surface of an electrode comprising a porous carbon material or the like. An antibiotic 16 is bound to a lipid bilayer membrane that composes the liposome 12, thereby forming one or more holes 17 through which glucose can pass. The enzyme-immobilized electrode can be used, for example, as a negative electrode for a biofuel cell.
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a fuel cell capable of easily fixing one or a plurality of kinds of enzyme at an optimum position of a cathode and/or an anode with damage suppressed low, and capable of manufacturing a high-performance fuel cell excellent in output characteristics, life, efficiency or the like. SOLUTION: The manufacturing method of a fuel cell, with a structure in which a cathode and an anode are opposed to each other through a proton conductor and with enzyme fixed to the cathode and/or the anode, includes a process of fixing the enzyme to the cathode and/or the anode by photo-curing resin and/or thermosetting resin. The photo-curing resin and/or the thermosetting resin are preferred to be soluble to water. Photo-curing resin and/or thermosetting resin may further be laminated on the photo-curing resin and/or the thermosetting resin with the enzyme fixed. COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mutant type protein having the degree of diaphorase activity or thermostability thereof at a prescribed level or higher. SOLUTION: The mutant type protein is composed of an amino acid sequence in which at least one or more amino acid residues are deleted, substituted, added or inserted in a specific natural type amino acid sequence and has the diaphorase activity with ≥245 value of the enzyme activity. Furthermore, the thermostable mutant type protein has the diaphorase activity with ≥245 value of the enzyme activity and ≥41% residual enzyme activity after a heat treatment. COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photoelectric conversion element capable of not only forming the photoelectric conversion element on a curved surface having an optional shape, but also simply constituting a photoelectric conversion material without using complicated chemical synthesis, and having a bidirectional property of photo current. SOLUTION: The photoelectric conversion element comprises a first electrode 11 made of a conductive material such as metal, zinc cytochrome c 12 fixed to the first electrode 11, and a second electrode 13 made of a conductive material such as metal. When the zinc cytochrome c 12 is irradiated with light, photo current flows on the inside of the element, By adjusting at least one of potential difference between the fist electrode 11 and the second electrode 13, the intensity of light irradiated to the zinc cytochrome c, and the wavelength of light irradiated to the zinc cytochrome c, the magnitude and/or the polarity of the photo current are/is changed. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus loaded with a fuel cell using safe fuel, which operates at room temperature. SOLUTION: This electronic apparatus is loaded with an enzyme cell composed of a group of oxidizing enzymes to generate an electron by dissolving fuel such as glucose or the like, a fuel electrode 1 carrying an electron mediator to give the generated electron to an electrode, an electrolyte layer 5 to transport a proton generated by oxidizing the fuel in the fuel electrode 1 to the opposite electrode side, and an air electrode 3 to generate water by oxidizing the proton carried from the fuel electrode 1 through the electrolyte layer 5 by oxygen in the air. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for generating hydrogen gas, which increases the efficiency of hydrogen generation even when a catalyst is not used and improves reliability in repetitive and long-term use, and to provide an apparatus for producing hydrogen gas and an energy conversion system. SOLUTION: In the method for generating hydrogen gas, in a mixed system consisting of a metal hydride represented by the formula α z(1-x) β zx [BH y ], water and a second liquid whose pH is lower than that of an aqueous solution of the metal hydride, the metal hydride is decomposed, wherein α and β are atoms selected from the groups IA, IIA, and IIB of the Periodic Table; 3
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a functional carbon material that is low-cost and simple and capable of realizing high purity and high yield, as well as the functional carbon material synthesized by the method and controlled highly in its structure. SOLUTION: This method for manufacturing the functional carbon material comprises a process that conducts at least one of quick heating-up heat treatment and energy radiation treatment on a polymer having structure represented by general formula (1) (wherein R is a hydrocarbon group and may include a heteroatom, and n is 2-10,000) and forms at least one of a sheet-like carbon material and a fiber-like carbon material. The functional carbon material, which is manufactured by the use of the polymer as a raw material, has at least one shape of the sheet-like carbon material of thickness of nano-size and the fiber-like carbon material having a middle diameter between nano-size and micron order. COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO