The discovery was published in the scientific journal Journal of Renewable Sustainable Energy and last night it was reported in the prestigious journal Nature
Researchers at the Hebrew University discovered that cooking potato tubers greatly improves the electricity output of the batteries that can be produced with the means available even in developing countries. This cheap, environmentally friendly and easy-to-use source of electricity can significantly improve the quality of life of 1.6 billion people, who make up 32% of the population of developing countries and who currently lack access to electricity infrastructure.
"The ability to produce efficient plant-based batteries is an innovative breakthrough for the utilization of agricultural energy sources, which are currently used mainly to produce fuel," said Yaakov Michlin, CEO of Apisil. "The ability to provide electricity through such simple and natural means will benefit millions of people in developing countries who live in areas without electricity infrastructure, and will bring light and communication to their lives, simply as they mean."
Professor Haim Rabinovitch from the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment and research student Alex Goldberg from the School of Engineering and Computer Science at the Hebrew University, in collaboration with Professor Boris Rubinsky from the University of California at Berkeley, are investigating the electrolytic processes that take place in the tissues of plants and animals for use In a variety of applications: including as a power source for operating medical electronic devices and implants. Their research yielded results that enabled the production of an efficient battery based on the use of zinc and copper electrodes and a potato slice that was boiled before use. The scientists discovered that simple boiling of the potato before use in the electrolysis process that occurs in the battery increases the electricity output tenfold compared to the fresh potato. The scientists demonstrated the ability of the natural electric battery by using it to power an LED light bulb.
The battery built on the basis of the treated pod produces electricity for days and even weeks. The scientific basis of the finding is related to the decrease in the electrical resistance of the potato tissues bridging the electrodes. This decrease in the resistance of the "Salt Bridge" is the goal pursued by the engineers working to optimize conventional batteries.
Cost calculations show that the Pofod battery provides electrical energy at prices 5 times lower compared to the 1.5 volt D size batteries common among the population in areas of the world that lack electrical infrastructure, and 50 times compared to Energizer's AA batteries. This environmentally friendly battery-based lighting is 6 times cheaper than oil lamps that are used as a light source in many homes in developing countries. Therefore, a potato and/or other plant tissue that will be treated by boiling may provide an immediate, environmentally friendly and cheap source of energy supply for lighting and other needs (such as: charging batteries of light mobile devices) in these places.
The apple is particularly suitable as a source of energy because of its wide distribution. Potatoes are grown in 130 countries in a wide variety of climate conditions and world production reached a peak of 2007 million tons in 325. The tubers, which have a long shelf life, are the most common food in the world with the exception of grains, and the consumption of potatoes increases significantly in developing countries, where about half of the world's apple crops are produced.
Application allows free use of the new technology for those regions of the world that suffer from economic difficulties.
10 תגובות
On the tracks in Sinai in the 70's we used to combine placing night targets made of batteries to which small LEDs were soldered and we also placed a twinkle light with plus-minus wires inside a potato
For the underground robot - the solar oven is not a start-up and never was. The principle is so simple (focusing the sun's rays like you did with a magnifying glass decades ago, and also very similar to the principle of solar boilers. I don't know what appeared in the news in Israel, but the use of these ovens in dozens of different versions has been common in the world for decades, I live in the East Asia in the last 7 years and in many villages in Cambodia and Thailand I have seen diesel stoves in action - very simple and effective - just for information...
where is the recipe 🙂
According to what I know and according to what I understand from here, the use of the potato is as an electrolyte. You still need an anode and a cathode to supply the electrons. In fact they discovered how to lower the internal resistance of the battery...
Which is a beautiful thing in itself, but it still doesn't solve the world's energy problems. If I'm right, then I don't think it would be that healthy to eat the potato, because it will probably have a lot of zinc (or whatever the anode is...)
to 6 In my humble opinion you are wrong.
Lanterns are very weak lamps that are barely enough to read, barely equivalent to a 40-60 watt lamp.
Assuming that you can also eat the potatoes later, the price of electricity is meaningless. It is interesting to know if using the energy of the potatoes lowers their nutritional value - because the chemical energy is small.
For number 5 - right now the solar oven is mostly a start-up, correct me if I'm wrong, even though it's been in the news.
Of course it is clear that for this technology to work a lot of things will have to change.
There is a problem with how they calculated the cost: they did not include the electrodes and the lamps they will use. Also an LED lamp does not give enough light as an oil lamp which can light a room.
Am I right?
to my people (2)
There is the option of boiling and cooking with a solar oven (a kind of silver-painted bowl/umbrella that concentrates the sun's energy towards a black pot that is in the center of the bowl. An amazing method, in my opinion, that is used in several places in the world.
Besides, it is written that boiling lowers the resistance of the TPA.
(Because of the boiling, the TPA has no power to resist and then it releases the electricity ——— sitttttttttttttttttam).
Larry Kubiak was right
This is discrimination against the other vegetables
It's interesting and beautiful on their part that they allow free use (not that if they banned it then they wouldn't use it, but still - it's nice to know that they leave this patent to all of humanity).
I wonder what makes pofud a better supplier after boiling compared to fresh pofud.
I wonder if the energy of the boiling is taken into account in order to calculate costs.
I wonder if you can eat the pood after using it.
Ami Bachar
What about loaded potatoes?