Harvesting Sustainable Energy from Salt Water: Part I – Effect of Types of Electrodes

In the last decade solar energy has been identified as one of the main alternative sources of energy with great potential to satisfy the world's energy needs. Unfortunately, the high capital cost of photovoltaic (PV) systems has prevented the widespread adoption of this kind of technology in developing countries. A new promising renewable energy source known as blue energy that takes advantage of the conductive nature of salt water has kept the researchers and engineers worldwide busiest at work. However, very limited research has been carried out in Malaysia in terms of harnessing sustainable energy from salt water and the findings were not well documented. The main objective of this research project is to produce a cost-effective new ilumination technology powered by salt water for rural and remote communities in Malaysia as well as worldwide. To realize this mission, a thorough investigation on the factors affecting the performance of the salwater energy product must undertaken. This paper particularly discusses the effect of electrode's combinations, number of cells and the durability of the electrodes after prolonged submergence in saltwater solution. The findings obtained from these experiments will be used to design a prototype of the illumination technology for further product development.