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Many researchers are looking for methods that could harness energy from thin air and from living plants. Green power has been used by researchers for providing electricity from plants. In a report by Inquisitr, a scientist found an innovative way to create glow in the dark tress, an amazing alternative to the street lights around the globe.
This month, a Dutch company plant-e found a way to harvest electricity from living plants. An energy source that no body thought could provide electricity. It seems like a solution to overcome the energy crisis that sooner or later most of the countries will be facing. The Dutch company illuminated 300 LED’s at a demonstration in Netherlands. They named their energy project as “Starry sky”. Although the bulbs were ordinary which didn’t consume much electricity but this way to harvest electricity from living plants has never been tested before.
Similar technology is being used at Plant-e’s Wageningen headquarters. These are the only two commercial installations of Plant-e’s technology. Plant-e not only aim to harvest electricity from living plants to power street light but also sell mobile chargers and wi-fi hotspots, all powered by the using living plants as energy source.
Plant-e’s co founder and CEO, Marjolein Helder termed his technology as revolutionary. Producing electricity from living plants without damaging the environment is a best alternative to replace the existing energy providing companies. If the technology is implemented correctly, it will be a way to enable consumers save millions.
Lighting 300 LED’s is an initial step. The CEO of Plant-e plans to use his technology at a larger scale. At wetlands and rice paddies where plants are in abundance. This will not only harvest electricity from living plants but also provide power to poorest countries in the world that are rich in agricultural fields.
Although the idea of getting power from plants is not a new one. Clocks that are made from potatoes also work on the similar process. But using photosynthesis to produce electricity is an efficient and new method never tried before.
All the plants used by Plant-e for illuminating 300 LED’s were aquatic plants provided to the Dutch company from local greenhouses. The process to harvest electricity from living plants is simple. The idea behind the technology is to use waste products that are released by plants during photosynthesis. Plant-e used interconnected modules containing growing plants. Inside these two square foot plastic modules, plants undergo the process of photosynthesis consuming sun light and carbon dioxide. As a result of this natural process, plants produce sugar. Some of the sugar is used by plants themselves for their growth while some is wasted into the soil. As the waste sugar released by plants breakdown in soil, it releases electrons and protons. By collecting these charged particles using electrodes, electricity is produced. The general summary of whole process is explained graphically by Jim McGowan.
Although harvesting electricity from living plants is environment friendly but this technique is yet not established enough to be used commercially. Ramaraja Ramasamy, an adjunct professor in University of Georgia College of Engineering explained that Plant-e uses sediment microbial fuel cell, a technology not yet fully developed to compete with existing energy providing systems like solar panels and wind turbines. Plant-e’s technology to harvest electricity from living plants is in its phases of development and may need a lot of years to rival solar panels and wind turbines.
Plant-e’s technology isn’t efficient enough to be used for household purposes where a lot of current and energy is required to power household items. One-square metre garden will be able to produce only 28 kilowatts-hour in a year which is far less than the average house demand of 10,837 kilowatts-hour, estimated by US Energy Information Administration in 2012.
Harvesting electricity from living plants isn’t a better practical method than solar cells in countries like America where an average house consumes a lot of energy. But in Netherlands, the average house energy consumption is far less than that of America, according to a press release by Plant-e. This means that the size of module to power a house in Netherlands will be about a third the size of what U.S home would require.
After the advancement in Plant-e’s technology the users will be able to harvest electricity from living plants but like all other energy providing sources, it also has some drawbacks. The technology depends on the climate. In cold seasons when the plants are not in abundance, the production of electricity will stop as the technology won’t work without the plants or frozen ground.
What do you think about the efficiency of this method to harvest electricity from living plants? Do you think such a method will surpass the old methods of producing electricity? Or is it just a laboratory experiment with no practical use? Share your views with us…
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