Plants And Electricity: Can We Replace Fossil Fuel With Plants?

By Raphael 9B

Plants are all over the world, and since they contain chemical energy in the roots, would it be efficient to use plants rather than fossil fuel? Well there are a lot of factors that play. Firstly, plants require time to grow, and to get electricity from them you would likely need technology to transfer the energy to power your device, meaning the whole process of this energy converting ‘thing’ would take a lot of time and money. This kind of experiment to take energy from plants as an alternative to fossil fuel is good due to the fact that fossil fuel is bad for the environment, while plants can give oxygen and maybe free energy. The problem is that this kind of alternative may not be possible. This requires time, money, and people to make it work, but the real question is whether this is actually possible.

Why can we use plants as an alternative to fossil fuel? The fact that most of the world uses oil on a daily basis, is why if we immediately quit, it might cause some problems to the economy, daily life, and livelihood. The research team based at Center for Micro-Bio Robotics has studied plants and showed that leaves can create electricity when they are touched by a distinct material. Research shows that more than 150 volts were produced by a single leaf which is enough to power 100 LED lights. While the evidence shows that this is entirely possible, there's also no harm in trying to modify a leaf that gives electricity when the leaf is touched. The same researchers who showed that a leaf produced more than 150 volts also modified a Nerum oleander tree with artificial leaves that touch the natural Nerum. It has been shown that when wind blows into the leaf, it produces electricity. The more wind that blows the more electricity it produces, therefore we can theoretically exploit plants and grow more plants for electricity, the plants will also receive something in return which is food and sunlight meaning it's all balanced.

One important thing to note is the cost of doing this research, according to Dr.M Science, Research And Scientist, a scientist will be payed a lot due to their advanced skills and knowledge, but also the time it requires as it says in the article that some research may take 5-10 years, so while the possibilities are now probable it may not be easy to bring out to the public forth the product. The production is also going to be expensive, how would we make this a marketable product? all of these factors come into play. We should also consider the fact that we are dealing with the world, trying to change oil (from fossil fuel) isn’t going to be easy. Factories, vehicle’s, electricity , and etc all use oil to some extent. The solution for this is to try and promote the alternative to the whole world, either through marketing or petitions.

If plants are able to create electricity and replace fossil fuel for the whole world, we still need to account for a couple of different factors, such as the fact that the world is . If we quit immediately, then that will affect a lot of things such as the economy. There is a way however to distribute this technology, and that is either 2 ways: one way is to start a movement and petitions, the other is to make this a public product, but the focus of this essay isn't entirely on ‘how’ to distribute it. There are billions of people. If you have a look at Elon musk and his electric car, he hasn't succeeded in distributing the car throughout the world (This is just an example). So while everything seems possible the only thing holding the product back is the world itself which ironically is also the place where plants are.

In conclusion, it is very unlikely that plants and electricity will replace fossil fuel. Many factors stop this invention from being published through the whole world, and stopping fossil fuel won't also help as that will crash the world. The distribution of the product will only be possible in the next 30 years but until then climate change will affect the world and thus it will be too late for humanity.

Bibliography

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia - IIT. "How plants can generate electricity to power LED light bulbs." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 December 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181212093308.htm>.

“Plants Create Energy - WUR.” WUR, https://www.wur.nl/en/show/Plants-create-energy.htm. Accessed 19 Oct. 2021.

“Let’s Talk Price: How Much Does Research Cost? - Market Connections.” Market Connections, Market Connections, 19 Sept. 2019, https://www.marketconnectionsinc.com/lets-talk-price-how-much-does-research-cost/.

“Artificial Leaf.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/technology/artificial-leaf. Accessed 19 Oct. 2021.