Aloevera is back in news again but not for its medicinal or cosmetic properties but as Aloe Ecell as a power source - herbal electrolyte battery!
Do you know what is common among Zinc, Maganese, Lithium, and Aloe Vera?
They are all used for making batteries – Shocking, right?
Student entrepreneurs, Ms. Nimisha Sharma and Mr. Naveen Suman, have successfully developed a 1.5V battery combining Aloe vera and plant extracts. The power duo has won the 2020 National startup awards and the Schneider Electric's Go Green in the City award-2019 (an international student case study competition). Their concept of Aloe E-cell is no 'kitchen science' but a logical utilization of ions present in plants to produce micro-energy.
Batteries are storage devices that work by converting chemical energy to electrical energy. Each battery has a leakage-free protective casing, an anode (negative) and cathode (positive) electrodes, electrolyte (conducting medium), collector, and separator. The anode and cathode are immersed in the electrolyte comprising ions (cations and anions). The anions or electrons cannot reach the cathode due to the separator and accumulate at the collector. With an external circuit, the electrons can move from the negative to the positive end; this movement results in electricity or current. However, the metals that make up for anode and cathodes electrodes and the electrolyte together light up our world are hazardous to both living and nature once they come in direct contact. The majority of batteries are recyclable, yet many end in landfills causing harm to life on land and water.
97% The raw material required to prepare a battery is outsourced by India, making it an economic burden. The trick lies in identifying a safe alternative electrolyte.
Photosynthesis and respiration-the food & energy generation- events leading to the generation of electrons in plants. Electrons' distribution within a plant and the electric conductivity are unique to each plant due to many internal and external factors. Water disparity within and in soil, sunlight exposure (shady and exposed regions in a plant) & its duration, oxygen content in the atmosphere, chlorophyll content within the plant, external stress conditions are among the few reasons. Considerable research shows that succulent or water retaining plants generate more electrons and higher voltage potential than non-succulent ones. Aloe vera (Aloe Barbadensis) is a classic example of a succulent plant. In the published article' Characterization of Aloe Barbadensis Miller leaves as a potential electrical energy source with optimum experimental setup conditions,' Chong and the team elaborate on the ideal electrodes, number of electrodes, and arrangements to draw maximum voltage potential.
Nimisha and Naveen conducted multiple tests to create an herbal formulation that increased the voltage potential of aloe vera. The ingredients and composition of the herbal formulation are undisclosed due to the impending patent formalities. The current Aloe E-cell can power low drain devices (clocks, watches, remote) to high drain devices (camera).
The recyclable electrodes and natural electrolyte makes Aloe E-cell 100% eco-friendly and thus 0% hazardous. The team claims that their plant-based cell is 1.5 X durable and ten times cheaper than the batteries used for low drain devices.
With the increasing demand for renewable alternatives and electric vehicles to reduce carbon footprint, the Aloe e-cell is the next 'green' thing. The innovation also increases the opportunity for Aloe vera farming - an absolute 'power' move that will boost the economy, good living, and well-being of Indian farmers.
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