Biowaste Sea Shells-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator: Sustainable Approach for Efficient Mechanical Energy Harvesting

Abstract

Waste-to-energy research is crucial for reducing environmental pollution and achieving a greener planet. Among many waste-to-energy technologies, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have attracted much attention in using waste materials for energy production in the last decade. This study presents the first reported use of biowaste sea shells (BSS) in the development of TENGs. For the fabrication of the TENG, BSS powder is attached to aluminum tape to act as one triboelectric layer and silicone rubber to serve as the opposite triboelectric layer. The BSS-TENG device produces an output voltage and current of ≈200 V and 40 μA, respectively. The power density achieved by the fabricated TENG is 948 mW m⁻². The output of the TENG is utilized in a powering series connected 240 LEDs momentarily for each tapping. This study not only offers a sustainable and cost-effective material for TENG assembly, but also opens up new avenues for research into energy harvesting utilizing biowaste, with the potential for future applications in powering small-scale devices and contributing to sustainable energy solutions.