Sustainable Energy Generation from Septic Tank

Published on 18 May 2022. Written by Vinay Raj

Non-renewable energy sources are coming to an end as they are depended on the sources like coal, petrol. So, renewable energy generation is the right way to overcome energy demands.

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Electricity is one of the important social need and many types of research are also going on in the generation of non-conventional electricity. Many countries are investing a large amount of money over renewable energy sources like solar energy and wind energy. But it consumes more space as well as a huge capital to build. They also cause pollution to the environment and need much manpower. It also requires raw materials to construct the setup.

Septic tanks are built in every residential house. The function of the septic tank is to reduce the pollution and content of pollutants in the wastewater. This is automatically done by the anaerobic bacteria that live in the septic tank. The septic tank provides favourable conditions for these anaerobic bacteria. This bacteria feeds on the organic material that presents in human waste and converts them into H+ ions and also produce a slight amount of methane gas.

The produced H+ ions can be used to produce electricity. In the presence of aerobic conditions, it gets converted into water and electrons. So, an external circuit is created for the flowing of electrons to collect Direct Current.

Requirements:

Non-Metallic cell

Electrode (carbon or copper rod).

Electrolyte

Regulator

Voltage booster

Project Implementation:

1. Generally, PVC is used to make the non-metallic cell. As metal cells get eroded in the wastewater.
2. Electrodes are put into the different containers to make anode and cathode.
3. Fill the anode chamber with the sewage and yeast. Cathode chamber is filled with distilled water with any salt solution for the better moving of ions.
4. The electrons are produced from the reaction between sewage and yeast.
5. A voltage booster is used to amplify electricity production.
6. A regulator is used to automatically stabilize the voltage to a constant level.

Advantages:

• The electricity generated can be used for household purposes.
• It reduces the usage of non-renewable energy source.

Conclusion:

This project proves that electricity can be generated from the wastewater that is generated by households, the rate of electricity produced can be increased by increasing the number of cells installed.

Kit required to develop Sustainable Energy Generation from Septic Tank:

• NA

Technologies you will learn by working on Sustainable Energy Generation from Septic Tank:

• Wastewater
• Electric
• MFC

Any Questions?