Electricity from tap water | Fusion - WeRIndia

Electricity is one of the most vital resources. To generate electricity several energy resources like thermal energy, hydro energy etc. are used. Now it is the era of solar energy.

Several alternate energy resources are being explored by researchers to generate electricity at an affordable price.

Now, researchers at IIT-Guwahati developed materials to generate electricity from tap water at the household level.

Normally, a large power plant is installed to produce energy for a specific region. But contrary to that, researchers are working to develop small electricity generation devices to be employed in every household.

If there is excess energy in any household, it can be transported to neighboring areas where there is a need.

The model of the IIT Guwahati researchers is called electrokinetic streaming potential. It generates water from flowing water like tap water on a small scale.

They have tested it to light up devices and so far the generated electricity can light up low-power devices like LED table lamps, calculators etc.

The researchers said that an electrolyte generates an electric current when it is pushed through a nanochannel with charged walls.

However, the generated power through this process is very small and typically in the range of few microwatts.

They have tried to improve it to milliwatts to get the best using the parameters. Though this electricity is not suitable for practical applications, it helps supplement the electricity generated through conventional means.

To generate electricity, the researchers connect an aspirator pump to the water tap. The aspirator pump produces vacuum pressure due to the flow of liquid or gaseous fluids through it.

This vacuum pressure is used to pull water through the device and it generates electricity.

Researchers also found ways to generate electricity through stagnant water using doped graphene flakes.

Image Reference: Thebetterindia