Turning discarded lobster shells into batteries

Popular Mechanics featured UBC chemistry research that turns shellfish into batteries.

UBC chemistry professor Mark MacLachlan has been able to heat chitin, the substance that gives some animals their iridescence, in a chamber filled with nitrogen which creates a carbon.

According to MacLachlan, chitin-based biodegradable plastics will likely hit the commercial market long before batteries formed from a crab shell since the process is extremely expensive.