4th International Conference on ‘Microelectronics, Circuits and Systems’, Micro2017

Electricity Production from Vegetative and Fruits

K.A.Khan1 , Lovelu Hassan2 , A K M Obaydullah3 and S.M. Azharul Islam2

1-Department of Physics, Jagannath University,Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh.
E-mail:kakhan01@yahoo.com
2- Department of Physics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh

3-Instructor, Upazilla Resource Centre, Nababgonj, Dhaka, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT reach and can be an effective issue in the case of rural

In this research, we have studied the performance of PKL, development by supplying electricity, especially for the
Aloe Vera, Tomato and Lemon juice electrochemical school going children by given PKL (as batter than Aloe
cells with load condition for 2:1 Zn/Cu based electrodes. Vera, Lemon and Tomato) lamp and other people by
It was studied the variation of Load Voltage (VL), Load giving information access for TV, radio and mobile using
Current (IL), and Load Power (PL), with the variation of PKL cell [4]. It was found that the effect of physical
time for PKL, Aloe Vera, Tomato and Lemon juice disruption treatment of the PKL, Aloe Vera, Lemon and
electrochemical Cells. It was seen from the research Tomato samples by heating at various holding time at
observation that PKL electrochemical Cell was more various temperatures as well, were presented graphically
efficient than the other three Aloe Vera, Tomato and in the figure[1]. At each holding time during the heat
Lemon juice electrochemical Cells [3]. Because, the load treatment of the samples at varied temperatures, an
Current (IL), Load Voltage (VL), and Load Power (PL) are increase in VL was observed at the beginning which
more stable and steady than the others three Aloe Vera, eventually dropped after holding temperature above
Tomato and Lemon juice electrochemical Cells. 50°C[2]. It was evident that heat treatment at temperature
We have also studied the performance of PKL, Aloe of 50°C for holding time of 20 minutes yields maximum
Vera, Tomato and Lemon juice electrochemical Cells VL of PKL, Aleo Vera, Lemon and tomato juice
without load condition for 1:1 Zn/Cu based electrodes. It electrochemical cells[6].
was studied the variation of Open circuit voltage (Voc),
Short current (Isc) and Maximum Power (Pmax) with the II.DRAWING FIGURES
variation of time for PKL, Aloe Vera, Tomato and Lemon Performance analysis on comparative study
juice electrochemical Cells. It was seen from the research among pkl, avl, tomato and lemon juice based
observation that the discharge characteristic of the PKL electrochemical cell for 2:1 zinc/copper based
electrochemical cell was more efficient than the other electrodes
three Aloe Vera, Tomato and Lemon juice Performance of cell is an important issue. There are some
electrochemical Cells. Because the Open circuit voltage parameters through which we can measure the
(Voc), Short current (Isc) and Maximum Power (Pmax) are performance of PKL, AVL, Tomato and Lemon juice
more stable and steady than the others three Aloe Vera, based Electrochemical Cell. A brief outlines of key
Tomato and Lemon juice electrochemical Cells. Heat parameters used to characterize a test cells are discussed
treatment temperature was a new approach by which we below[7]. Also it is shown that how these parameters may
can enhance the performances of the PKL, Aloe Vera, vary with the operating condition.
Lemon and Tomato electrochemical cells[8].The 1st
author is the innovator of this system. He designed and Methodology
fabricated of this system. The 2 nd and 4th author completed Experimental Setup of Cell: The inner volume of the
literature survey which is mentioned in the author list. cell was 720 cm3. Every time, the electrodes are
The 3rd author collected data and then analyzed and then immersed 120 mm deep in the saps. This depth is kept
after tabulated and finally graphically presented. Most of fixed throughout this experiment. Three copper plates are
the results have been tabulated and graphically discussed. used as cathode and six zinc plates are used as anode[10].
Keywords: PKL; Energy generation; Biomass energy; The connections among the electrodes are given below.
Electrochemical Cell.
I.INTRODUCTION
This paper deals with comparative analysis on Pathor
Kuchi Leaf (PKL), Aloe Vera Leaf (AVL), Tomato and
Lemon juice based Zn/Cu Electrochemical Cell and aim
Zn Plate

Cu Plate

to find out which leaf or fruit would generate enough

electricity to illuminate a light bulb and to identify which +
leaf or fruit would illuminate the bulb the longest [5].
Fig.1:Connections between Anodes & Cathodes.
This is really very helpful to construct a mini power plant
by any people using this technique with an affordable
price in the rural areas. Where the national grid is out of
 4th International Conference on ‘Microelectronics, Circuits and Systems’, Micro2017

V electricity. But for AVL the load voltage decreases

Voltmeter rapidly than the others.
A Load current(In Fig.4) is dropping with time. Although
LOAD
Ammeter the load current is higher for PKL throughout the
+ observations, but the decrease rate is much higher than
the other three. For Tomato and Aloe Vera, the current is
Fig.2: Connection of an ammeter & voltmeter with a Cell. comparatively small, but the decrease rate is very low.
The good and constant nature of output power makes a
An ammeter and a load of 1 Ω are connected with the two battery more usable. Here in figure 8 shows an interesting
terminals of the electrodes in series connection and a character between them. The power is much
voltmeter is connected in parallel connection with the higher(Fig.5 ) for PKL than others but the decrease rate is
load. The space (gap) between two consecutive electrodes also high. For the first 1800 minutes or 30 hours[9], it can
is kept 5 mm. supply more than 1watt of electricity continuously.
III. Analysis & Discussions IV. Effect of Sodium Chloride as a Secondary Salt on
Three parameters such as Load Voltage, Current & Power PKL, Lemon and AVL fueled Electrochemical Cell:
are selected to check performance analysis, which are
given as follows respectively: To enhance the performance of our system we added 100
g NaCl with PKL, Aloe Vera and Lemon juice
electrochemical cell. Due to the shortage of tomato juice,
we did not conduct performance study on tomato juice
electrochemical cell with NaCl [11].
Methodology
In a cell there are six small compartments and in each
compartment consists of two copper plates as one cathode
and three zinc plates as one anode. In this model we have
to change the juice manually after some periods.
Changing juice means recharging battery. That means if
we change the juice once, thus we recharge the PKL,
Fig.3 Load Voltage with Time. Aloe Vera, Lemon cell.

Plates
+

Zn
+
Plates
Cu

Fig.6 Set-up of Electrodes in a Unit Cell.

Voltmeter

V
Fig.4:Load Current with Time.
A 1Ω
Ammeter LOAD
+

Fig.7Ammeter & Voltmeter connectionin Cell.

Fig.5 Load Power with Time.

Fig.8 PKL module
Load voltage (In Fig.3) of PKL remains higher than the
others throughout our observations. An important nature An ammeter and a load of 1 Ω were connected with the
of load voltage of PKL, Lemon and Tomato shows that two terminals of the electrodes in series and a voltmeter
the load voltage can be considered as constant in all three was connected across the load. The space (gap) between
cases, which makes all of the three feasible to produce two consecutive electrodes was kept 5 mm[13]
 4th International Conference on ‘Microelectronics, Circuits and Systems’, Micro2017

V. Discussions on Experimental analysis Where, Weight of Fresh Leaves before blending (g) = X,
Weight of Leaves after filtration (g) = Y, Volume of
Water after filtration (ml) = Z, Experimental arrangement
for measuring Voc & Isc of PKL, AVL, Lemon and Tomato
are given below respectively:

Fig.9 Voltage (VL)-time(with NaCl)

Fig.13(a)E.A.forVoc of PKL Fig.13 (b) E.A.for Isc of PKL

Fig. 10Current(IL)-time(with NaCl)

Fig.13(c) E.A. for Voc of Aloe Vera Fig.13 (d) E.A.for Isc Aloe Vera

Fig.11.Load Power(PL)- Time(with NaCl) Fig.14(a)E.A. for Voc of Tomato Fig.14 (b) E.A. for Isc of Tomato

The value of Aloe Vera was decreased from initially.

Finally it can be concluded that the load power of PKL
cell was higher and stable than others[12].
VI. Performance Analysis on comparative study
among PKL, AVL, Tomato and Lemon juice
Fig.14(c) E.A. for Voc of Lemon Fig.14 (d) E.A.for Isc Lemon
Electrochemical Cell for 1:1 Zinc/Copper based
Electrodes VII. Analysis& Discussions
Methodology
Electrode strips were cleaned with extra fine steel wool to
remove any corrosion on the surface, thus, improve the
conductivity. Fresh samples were used in each
experiment.

Fig.15(a) Voc With Time for 1st day

Fig.12 (a) PKL EC Fig.12 (b) Aloe Vera EC

Fig.12 (c) Tomato EC Fig.12 (d) Lemon EC

Fig.15(b) Voc With Time for 2nd day

 4th International Conference on ‘Microelectronics, Circuits and Systems’, Micro2017

Fig.17(c) Pmax With Time for 3rd day

Fig.15(c) Voc With Time for 3rd day From the fig.17, it was seen that the value of the
maximum power of the PKL electrochemical cell was
decreased from 53w to 55w and remains almost constant.
The value of the maximum power of Aloe Vera
electrochemical cell was decreased from 53w to 56w hr.
and started to fluctuate up to 64 [14]. The value of the
maximum power of lemon electrochemical cell decreased
up to 54w and then remain constant from 54w to 59w.
VIII. Determination of Optimum Heat Treatment
Fig.16(a) Isc With Time for 1 day
st Temperature & Holding Time
Analysis & Discussions
The effect of physical disruption treatment of the PKL,
Aloe Vera, Lemon (with skin) and Tomato samples by
heating at various holding time at various temperatures as
well, were presented graphically as shown in fig.18.

Fig.16(b) Isc With Time for 2nd day

Fig.16(c) Isc With Time for 3rd day Fig18.Arrangement for measuring Heat Treatment temperature

Fig.19(a) VL With temperature

Fig.17(a) Pmax With Time for 1st day

Fig.19 (b) IL With temperature

Fig.17 (b) Pmax With Time for 2nd day

 4th International Conference on ‘Microelectronics, Circuits and Systems’, Micro2017

Cost Comparison of PKL Electricity: 1) Gas based

electricity/MW=TK 12 Crore = BDT 120 Million 2)
Wind energy/MW =TK 20 Crore = BDT 200 Million 3)
Solar PV(Off grid –AC system)=TK 75 Crore = BDT
750 Million 4) PKL electricity (Off grid –AC system)
= TK1.50 Crore = BDT 15 Million
Fig.19(c) PL With temperature Below 500 watt: The Cost of the electricity for off grid
Investigation on the performance of PKL, Aloe Vera, system is BDT.300 Tk./Watt, The Cost of the electricity
Tomato and Lemon (with skin) samples as an alternative for on grid system is BDT.270 Tk./Watt.
source of renewable energy for small electric current Above 500 Watt: The Cost of the electricity for off grid
generation allowed the following conclusions to be made: system is BDT.200 Tk./Watt. The Cost of the electricity
(1)An irreversible change in the cellular and tissue for on grid system is BDT. 170 Tk./Watt.
structures either through irreversible heating significantly Cost Comparison between SPV (3w)(4) = 12w Home
affects the electrical characterization values, with the System and PKL Home System:
consequence of increasing the magnitude of the electrical For SPV system: 1) Cost of 50w SPV System
power generation.(2)PKL is found to be the best (TK.120/w) =TK.6000 2)Cost of the Battery =Tk.4000,
vegetative battery sample in terms of electrical 3)Cost of the Charge Controller =Tk.1000, 4)Cost of the
performance whereas Tomato is found to be the least. 3w LED lamp =4(Tk.150) =Tk.600. Total
(3)Power generated by Zn/Cu fruits and vegetative Cost=Tk.11600
samples are much cheaper than any conventional portable For PKL System: 1) Cost of the Insulated
battery.Overall, heat treatment leads to formation of Container=Tk.200 2) Cost of the Plates =Tk.1500 3)Cost
micro-pores in cell membrane, leading to reduction in the of the Juice =Tk.100, 4)Cost of the 3w LED lamp
internal resistance of the Electrochemical Cells. =4(Tk.110) =Tk.440, 5)Cover=Tk.100.Total
Cost=Tk.2300
IX. Applications: Cost Analysis for Single Bike Battery (for 5 years):1)
Cost of the Insulated Container =Tk.1000 2) Cost of the
Electrodes/Plates =Tk.2500 3) Cost of the
Juice/Sap=Tk.100 4) Manage mental Cost =Tk.400 5)
Battery Cover =Tk.300 6) Assembling cost =Tk.100 7)
Miscellaneous =Tk.100. Total=Tk.4500
Specification of the Battery Bike ( For6/7 passengers,
Power=1145w ): Total Voltage needs =60 volt, No. of
Fig. 20 (a) Diagram of a 1kw PKL power plant required batteries =10(6v Each)=5(12v Each), No. of
Power required =1200 watt, No. of required Current
=20 A, For Power= 500w(2/3 Passenger):, Total Voltage
needs =24 volt, No. of required batteries = 4(6v
Each)=2(12v Each) , No. of Power required =500 watt,
No. of required Current =21 A.
Present Energy Scenario of Bangladesh: Electricity
Generation Capacity = 7646 MW, Generation going
Fig.20 (b) Diagram of a 1kw PKL power plant
on/Capacity = (5000-5300) MW, Maximum Demand =
6000 MW, At 29.08.2011 Maximum Generation = 5244
MW., Transmission Line(230KV/132KV) = 8662 km,
Number of Grid Station in Bangladesh = 115,
Distribution line(up 33KV) = 278000km., No. of
Consumer = 12500000, Electricity User = 50%,Annual
electricity consumed per person = 252kwh, System loss in
Bangladesh = 12.75%, Installed Solar Photovoltaic Home
Fig.20 (c) Experimental Set-up of a 1kw PKL power plant System(SHS)= 10 Lacs., Pr esently Generated from
X. Cost of the PKL Electricity: Renewable Energy = 55MW
From 150kg Zn can get = 140 plates, We need =120 PDB’S PURCHASE RATE (Before 20.09.2012): Per
plates, Cost of 50 kg Zn = 12500 Tk., Cost of 150 kg Zn Unit of Power: (1).Oil-based Rental:Tk.7-9, (2.)Gas-
= 37,500 Tk. Cost of 120 Cu Plates = 22000 Tk.,20 kw based:Tk.4.80, (3.)State-Owned Plants:Tk.2.5-3.5.
Pure Sine wave Inverter = 40,000 Tk. ,Pump device = (Reference: The Daily Star, Date:29.02.2012)
70,000 Tk., Total Glass box = 15000 Tk., Total Glass box XI.Cultivation and Land situation in Bangladesh:
making charge = 10000 Tk Grand total cost(excluding Present Land Situation in Bangladesh-The role of PKL
pump device) of 20kw AC system = 1,24,500 Tk. ,Cost Electricity
of PKL electric system compare to PKL Home Total Land = 55000 square miles, 1 square mile = 640
System: Cost of 20kw Diesel generator system = 13 Lac, acres, Total Land(TL) in hectors = 55000.640 acres/2.5
Cost of 20kw SPV System = 20000w*250Tk = 50 Lac,, =14080000 hectors(1hectore=2.5 acre),Presently the
Cost of 20kw PKL System = 1.25 Lac. Agricultural Land(AL) in Bangladesh = 8500000
 4th International Conference on ‘Microelectronics, Circuits and Systems’, Micro2017

hectors ,Therefore the NAL(Non Agricultural [4] A. S. N. Huda, Saad Mekhilef, and Amimul Ahsan,
Land)=5580000 hectors., The 2% of NAL= 111600 “Biomass energy in Bangladesh: Current status and
prospects,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy
hectors = (111600 hectors)(7.5) = 837000 Bigh (1hectore Reviews, vol. 30, pp. 504-517, 2014.
= 7.5 Bigha), From 1bigha PKL we can get = 100 KW [5] V. K. Gupta, Bina Gupta, Arshi Rastogi, Shilpi
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Buisman, “Green electricity production with living
plants and bacteria in a fuel cell,” International
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Fig.21(b):Multi leaves from one leaf [8] Maher AR Sadiq Al-Baghdadi, and Haroun AK
Shahad Al-Janabi, “Parametric and optimization
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Fig.21(C): PKL Plant an assessment of research trends by bibliometric
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Energy, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 125-140, 2014.
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Electrical Energy for illuminating LED bulb, operating coniferous and deciduous tree species,” Soil Biology
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PKL, AVL, Tomato and Lemon plant. Considering the all vol. 51, 1978.
necessary surrounding including easier cultivation and [14] Md. Kamrul Alam Kahn, Mohammad Hasan Bakshi
less cost effective, PKL Electrochemical Cell is more and Abdullah Al Mahmud, “Bryophyllum Pinnatum leaf
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Electrochemical Cells to generate Electricity for practical for future world”, American Journal of PhysicalChemistry
utilization not only in Bangladesh but also all over the 2014; 3(5): 77-83 published online November 10, 2014
world. The residue from this technique contains zinc, (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajpc)doi:
which can also be used as fertilizer. 10.11648/j.ajpc.20140305.15,ISSN: 2327-2430 (Print);
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