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The energy of a falling water drop

08.02.2020

City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has created a power generator based on a promising new method of converting water energy and featuring high efficiency using a FET-like structure.

Water, covering about 70% of the Earth's surface, is fraught with a huge potential for energy not used by man. The limitations of current technology do not allow efficient conversion into electricity of the low-frequency kinetic energy that is present in waves, tides, and even raindrops.

The CityU team spent two years of research to overcome the problem of low efficiency. As a result, the instantaneous energy density of their droplet generator DEG (Droplet-based Electricity Generator) can reach 50,1 W / m2, which is thousands of times higher than similar devices without the FET structure.

The efficiency of energy conversion has also increased significantly. A single drop of 100 microliters of water dropped from a height of 15 cm onto the surface of a plate of PTFE electret material allows DEG to generate over 140 volts, enough to light a hundred small LED lamps.

The device consists of two electrodes: aluminum and ITO coated with a PTFE film. The PTFE/ITO electrode is responsible for charge generation, storage and induction. When a drop of water hits and spreads over the PTFE/ITO surface, it connects both electrodes and forms a closed electrical circuit that releases the stored charge in the form of an electric current.

Scientists hope that the results of their research will help find an answer to the global problem of lack of renewable energy and will contribute to the sustainable development of the world. In the long term, the new design could be applied to a variety of surfaces where liquid contacts solid matter, from the hull of ferries, to umbrellas, or even the inside of water bottles.

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