Revolutionary Lamp That Runs on Saltwater

[Hervé]

Filipina Entrepreneur Creates Revolutionary Lamp That Runs on Saltwater

By Sumitra on November 27th, 2015

Meet Aisa Mijeno, a Filipina architect and scientist who invented a revolutionary lamp that runs on a glass of saltwater instead of batteries. Her vision in creating the SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) lamp was to “light up the rest of the Philippines sustainably,” by finding an environment-friendly alternative light source suitable for people in coastal areas. She came up with the idea after spending time with the locals of the Butbut tribe in the Kalinga Province of Philippines, who had no access to electricity.

The lamp can apparently run for eight hours on just two tablespoons of salt and a glass of water. “It is made of tediously experimented and improved chemical compounds, catalysts, and metal alloys that when submerged in electrolytes will generate electricity,” Mijeno explained. The idea behind it is the chemical conversion of energy, but while it works on the scientific principle of the galvanic cell, it makes use of a harmless, non-toxic saline solution instead of hazardous electrolytes.

This saltwater lamp not only makes lighting available to remote areas, it’s also a lot cheaper than conventional kerosene or electric lamps, considerably safer since it does not have components and compounds that may spark fire, and, most importantly, it’s environment-friendly since it does not emit toxic gases and leaves a minimal carbon footprint.“This isn’t just a product,” Mijeno said. “It’s a social movement.”

Although the SALt lamp isn’t being mass produced yet, it has received global recognition. Mijeno has won several awards and competitions in Philippines, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea for the work that she put into the device. And The New York Times reported that she recently attended a discussion of climate change hosted by President Obama, where she spoke about the SALt lamp in detail. He called her venture a “splendid thought”, while referring to her as “the perfect example of young entrepreneurs coming up with leapfrog technology.”

For now, Mijeno’s immediate challenge lies in finding a way to manufacture the lamp so that it remains durable, economical, and easy to maintain. If it manages to work as promised, it can produce about 90 lumens of light at just $20, plus $3 to replace the anode every six months. That’s perfect for areas with no electricity grid, and safer than kerosene lamps. SALt also features a USB port that can be used to charge mobile phones or other electrical devices. If everything goes according to plan, Mijeno believes the product should be available on the market in 2016.

“The danger in (kerosene) lamps is it could cause fire accidents,” she said. “We want to provide a lighting option that is more cost-effective, more safe, more sustainable and environmentally friendly by way of a lantern that uses saline solution or ocean water as a catalyst to generate electricity.”

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6aJPLwGMw

“Just imagine, if we’re able to power a whole island using ocean water. That’s what we’re trying to aim for.”

Sources: ABS-CBN News, Pick Juan

[Ioneo]

Excellent!

[Bubu]

This is good news for folks off grid you can also make your own
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vOuj_feM2s

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5vOuj_feM2s

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=VMdS65_E_X4

[Ewan]

Woohoo, time to stop paying the energy bill.

So can any electrical people ponder on experiments in series and parallel set-ups?

I'm a complete dunce with electricity all thanks to an experience at school with my physics teacher. Apparently the way my mind works I just can't progress unless I understand something. So when my teacher clearly had no idea what the answer was to, "What's a flow of electrons?" asked her by a 12 yr old boy it was clear she just recited text books with limited understanding herself and I never got any further.

[Nick Matkin]

What a great idea in the op. I hope it's not hyped and the raw materials (the dissimilar metal electrodes) really are cheap and easy to manufacture.

The two designs in the videos in post #3 will work. And they could be scaled up to provide more light, etc.

So what's the catch? Salt water is cheap. Aluminium and copper foil are relatively cheap. Is it some secret hidden technology, as some would have us believe? Well probably not if it's available on Youtube.

Unfortunately it's due to some mundane laws of chemistry and physics. Although the raw materials of the device are cheap, the efficiency is low; quite a lot of material is required to generate relatively little power. Not only that, but after an hour or two the metals will 'decompose' into various salts and become useless.

All these shortcomings have been overcome by chemists and physicists by carefully selecting refined materials and assembling them into efficient units. Unfortunately this cannot be achieved in one's kitchen. That's why we have to go to the shop to buy... batteries! An extension and development of this electro-chemistry has developed the great looking lamp in the first video.

[stebra]

You can also use zinc and carbon sheet with salt (sea water) electrolyte.
As the sea water gets contaminated, it is easy to throw this way and replace with "fresh" sea water.
The catch is, that after a while of drawing current, you get a white sludge jelly build up between the electrodes and the cell gradually drops off in output.
You can "reactivate" the cell, by removing this sludge, but eventually, the zinc gets "eaten" away.

[Daozen]

There may be issues, but at least they are trying. I have a feeling that there will be more low tech retro-innovation like this over the next 10 years. What about citric acid?

Hand cranked lights are also very promising...

[seah]

good job, Aisa! I wonder if she saw something similar in use by the tribe people? Hope it can be manufactured economically and that it can be put to use in mass.