Comparative Study on Sand Loam and Silt Loam in Electricity Generation of an Earth Battery-Powered Lamp

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Electricity is one of mankind's greatest necessities. The lack of electricity access in the Philippines and the continuous increase in electricity demand has been a major problem of the government. Overexploitation of fossil fuel usage and great amount of carbon dioxide emission from power plants has also been a challenge for environmentalist groups. Earth Batteries are alternative energy source capable of powering simple devices such as bulbs.

METHODS

This study focused on the comparison of the voltage and current outcomes of Earth Battery-powered lamps. The researchers used readily available soil in Laguna, specifically the San Pablo area. Sand Loam (53% sand, 37% silt, 10% clay) and Silt Loam (40% sand, 50% silt, 10% clay) were collected from Barangay Concepcion and were used as the electrolytes of the earth battery cells. Both setups consisted of eighty-four battery cells and were connected in a series-parallel connection. Paired T-test was used to statistically analyze the data gathered from the experimentation.

RESULTS

Setup 1 with Sand Loam produced 13.23V and 0.48mA, while Setup 2 with Silt Loam produced 14.63V and 0.82mA. Thus, there was a significant difference in both the voltage and current of the set-ups at a confidence level of 95%. The results showed that Silt Loamcontains higher electrolytes than Sand Loam.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrate that it is possible to power a 12V and 5W DC bulb using the concept of Earth Batteries. Though both Sand Loam and Silt Loam succeeded in powering the bulb, the comparison of the data shows that Set-up 2 with Silt Loam produces higher outcomes of voltage and current thus having brighter light emission than that of Sand Loam.