frodo.rok
Member • Dec 28, 2008
A possible way of Green (Pollution-Free) generation of electricity
Category: The problem(s) I'd love to solve (as an engineer).
Content: Present day civilization is facing the need of a source of energy that will Produce electrical energy being pollution-free, efficient, cost-effective,reliable etc. Almost all of the available sources of green (pollution-free) energy have some disadvantages. Either they are not purely pollution free or not cost effective or not efficient or are not reliable etc. The purpose of this article is to highlight a possible natural source of energy that has the potential to fulfill the need.
Electric Eel or Electrophorus Electricus, is a kind of neurotropical knifefish has the amazing ability to discharge strong electric pulses of 500Volt (avg.) and 1 Amp.(avg.) Electric Eels of 103.6Cm. (avg.) in length and 20 kg. (avg.) in weight can discharge electrical energy of 3.1 Joule/Impulse. If an Electric Eel discharges 16667 numbers of such pulses per day, which they are seemed to be capable of, then the amount of electrical energy per day discharged by an electric Eel will be almost 50K Joule, i.e. almost 50K Joule of energy can be discharged by an electric Eel per day (research needed).
Electric Eels are of 2mtr. Avg. in length and 20kg. avg. in weight, They preferred to live in fresh muddy water, feed on fish, small mammals etc. Electric Eels are habitat of Amazon and Orinoco river basin in South America.
Using 50kJoule of energy per Eel per day we can have sufficient energy for a 10Mwatt power plant operating on peak load throughout the day from 18 Million (approx) nos. of Eel. Then why don’t we have a Electric Eel Power Plant? Probably because of the unreliable and inferior quality of energy available from Eels. This kind of energy which is intermittent and in pulsed form, directly will not be of any use. But if we can tap this energy to generate other form of energy like chemical energy of Hydrogen and Oxygen then we can have a good quality and reliable source of energy. Also we can store this kind of energy for future use. We can use impulses of Electric Eels for Electrolysis of Water (H2O) and produce Hydrogen (H2) and Oxygen (O2) from it. This Hydrogen and Oxygen can be used to operate Fuel Cells to generate Electrical Energy. Taking total efficiency of electrolytic cells and fuel cell as 65% a 10MWatt Power Plant will need about 30 Millions of Eel.
There is also a possibility of more efficient operation of electrolytic cell and fuel cell if they are combined in to one Cell. The operation of Fuel cell emits 48.7KJ as heat which can serve the need of 48.7 KJ of heat needed for the electrolytic cell in operation. This will make the system more efficient cost effective and naturally cooled.
Being a whole new idea rigorous research and development is needed to conclude about its possibility, practical applicability, feasibility, efficiency, cost-effectively, reliability etc.
The need of our is to explore each and every kind of possibility of having a technology that can produce Green (Pollution-Free) Power to meet our ever increasing demand of energy.This article is an initiative towards fulfilling the need.
(Ref: Electric Eel
Fuel Cell
Books:
1. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology by Springer-Verlag 1979
Page:311-319
2. On The Energy Source Of The Action Potential In The Electric Organ Of
Electrophorus Electicus by David Nachmansohn,C.W.Coates, Mortimer
A.Rothenberg, and M.V.Brown 1946 Page:223-231 )
Content: Present day civilization is facing the need of a source of energy that will Produce electrical energy being pollution-free, efficient, cost-effective,reliable etc. Almost all of the available sources of green (pollution-free) energy have some disadvantages. Either they are not purely pollution free or not cost effective or not efficient or are not reliable etc. The purpose of this article is to highlight a possible natural source of energy that has the potential to fulfill the need.
Electric Eel or Electrophorus Electricus, is a kind of neurotropical knifefish has the amazing ability to discharge strong electric pulses of 500Volt (avg.) and 1 Amp.(avg.) Electric Eels of 103.6Cm. (avg.) in length and 20 kg. (avg.) in weight can discharge electrical energy of 3.1 Joule/Impulse. If an Electric Eel discharges 16667 numbers of such pulses per day, which they are seemed to be capable of, then the amount of electrical energy per day discharged by an electric Eel will be almost 50K Joule, i.e. almost 50K Joule of energy can be discharged by an electric Eel per day (research needed).
Electric Eels are of 2mtr. Avg. in length and 20kg. avg. in weight, They preferred to live in fresh muddy water, feed on fish, small mammals etc. Electric Eels are habitat of Amazon and Orinoco river basin in South America.
Using 50kJoule of energy per Eel per day we can have sufficient energy for a 10Mwatt power plant operating on peak load throughout the day from 18 Million (approx) nos. of Eel. Then why don’t we have a Electric Eel Power Plant? Probably because of the unreliable and inferior quality of energy available from Eels. This kind of energy which is intermittent and in pulsed form, directly will not be of any use. But if we can tap this energy to generate other form of energy like chemical energy of Hydrogen and Oxygen then we can have a good quality and reliable source of energy. Also we can store this kind of energy for future use. We can use impulses of Electric Eels for Electrolysis of Water (H2O) and produce Hydrogen (H2) and Oxygen (O2) from it. This Hydrogen and Oxygen can be used to operate Fuel Cells to generate Electrical Energy. Taking total efficiency of electrolytic cells and fuel cell as 65% a 10MWatt Power Plant will need about 30 Millions of Eel.
There is also a possibility of more efficient operation of electrolytic cell and fuel cell if they are combined in to one Cell. The operation of Fuel cell emits 48.7KJ as heat which can serve the need of 48.7 KJ of heat needed for the electrolytic cell in operation. This will make the system more efficient cost effective and naturally cooled.
Being a whole new idea rigorous research and development is needed to conclude about its possibility, practical applicability, feasibility, efficiency, cost-effectively, reliability etc.
The need of our is to explore each and every kind of possibility of having a technology that can produce Green (Pollution-Free) Power to meet our ever increasing demand of energy.This article is an initiative towards fulfilling the need.
(Ref: Electric Eel
Fuel Cell
Books:
1. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology by Springer-Verlag 1979
Page:311-319
2. On The Energy Source Of The Action Potential In The Electric Organ Of
Electrophorus Electicus by David Nachmansohn,C.W.Coates, Mortimer
A.Rothenberg, and M.V.Brown 1946 Page:223-231 )
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