The soil in the flower pots or the kitchen garden of your house can provide you not just flowers or vegetables but also electricity.
Sounds incredible, but a Punjab-origin Indian physicist, Dr Sunil Kumar, has, while teaming with two Korean partners, proved that it is possible for you to run your home appliances from soil itself. Dr Kumar, currently working as a Professor in Dongguk University, South Korea, hails from Patiala. Dr Kumar has developed a 24-hour electricity-generating hybrid green energy module from soil.
This system generates electricity from microbes in the soil by supplying them food regularly as well as using the electro-chemical approach.
He said, “The common battery used in mobile phones uses the electro-chemical concept. The microbial produce a natural energy when they eat food. Our model is a marriage of both concepts so that it can be used for home appliance applications. The portable power plant system will occupies space in home not more than solar panels or a large-size inverter.
Electricity has been generated from soil earlier also. However, it was low, almost negligible on efficiency, with poor sustainability and high cost.
This system is a giant leap where one can have a round-the-clock supply with high efficiency, longer sustainability and low cost. This kind of generation is environment friendly and can be used with slight modifications to control water and air pollution. Water pollution can be controlled by use of industrial or agriculture waste water. Air can be purified by release of more oxygen to the environment by planting any kind of plant in this soil-based system.