Performance of Nata de Bamboo and Nata de Chayote Membranes as Zinc-Carbon Battery Separators

The performance of nata de bamboo (NDB) and nata de chayote (NDCh) membranes as zinc-carbon battery separators has been investigated. NDB and NDCh are bacterial cellulose produced from a fermentation process by bacterium acetobacter xylinum on bamboo shoots and chayote substrate, respectively. Two types of membranes, i.e., complete sheet (type 1) and homogeneous (type 2) from both natas were fabricated with various weights. The membranes were pressed, dried, and placed on the zinc-carbon battery as a separator. The digital caliper was used to measure the thickness of the membranes. The electrochemical properties of the membranes as zinc-carbon battery separators were observed by Linear Sweep Volt- ammetry (LSV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. A comparison study was conducted with an original membrane separator of a zinc-carbon battery. The results showed that the thickness of type 1 membranes from both NDB and NDCh in all variations is thinner than that of type 2 membranes and original membranes. NDB and NDCh membranes' resistance was similar to the original membrane separator. The best result was achieved from type 1 of NDB and NDCh membranes. This indi-cates that NDB and NDCh membranes have the potency to replace an original membrane separator of zinc-carbon batteries.