1.

1 Background of the Study

In recent years, the search for the betterment of future generations through
technological advancement was given a great importance by the scientists and
environmental researchers. They search for the cheapest and easiest way to
electrify the whole world in an eco-friendly way.
Renewable energy sources, such as wind, seawater, and solar systems, are smart
alternatives to fossil fuels due to their inexhaustible and environmental friendly
features. The performance of sustainable energy technology can be improved to
empower the utilization of renewable electricity sources. Many scientists explore
and develop the power source of renewable energy for various applications, such as
for portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and for energy storage systems
which are easily accessible, and has a low cost of technology. However, their
alternating and non-predictable nature requires the development of technologies
that are low-cost, efficient and provides safe energy used as power sources for the
general electricity requirements. Thus, seawater is an important alternative to
renewable energy sources to generate low cost, efficient, and green electricity for
various practices.
Moreover, different challenges concerning power generation emerge nowadays. With
the rising energy demand caused by the rapid growth in industrialization and
modernization, resourcefulness in electrification processes must be considered.
Because the existing or conventional fuel sources are efficient but not too much
reliable as they have some major problems like carbon emissions, limited
reservations are made. Mainly due to meet the demand of the future generations and
to save the world environment from getting polluted we must shift to the
alternative energy sources.
According to science, earth is covered with 70% of water and 30% of land. So water
occupies more space than land but 97% is the salt water and 3% is the fresh
drinking water. Many technologies are developed to use salt water for producing
electrical energy. The energy produced in this way is renewable energy source.
Thus, researchers comes with the idea of the renewable energy of using seawater
with water filtration for electrification processes. Appreciations to the different
researches and developments on clean electricity generation from renewable energy
resources, we can now reduce and eventually end our dependence on fossil fuels and
other expensive sources.
Another problem found is that there are many fire incidents caused by using
kerosene lamps and candles as light source to people�s homes. Also, there are still
communities in the world who don�t have access to electricity especially in remote
areas. In the Philippines, powering the whole country remains a major problem
because connecting rural areas to the grid is not economically viable.
According to research, in Nigeria, over 60 percent of their people do not have
access to electricity and the ones who are connected to the national grid usually
experienced erratic/epileptic supply of power. This vast country has a total
population of over 170 million people and situated in the western part of Africa
with a land mass of 910,771 sq. km. Because of their huge population, there is huge
demand of electricity. Without electricity, life would be very difficult for them
(Dioha, 2017).
In Philippines, millions of Filipinos still have no access to electricity and
most of them live in the far-flung areas, where poverty is more severe. According
to the World Bank, the electrification rate in the country stands at 87.5 percent
or nearly nine out of ten households out of every 100 have access to electricity
(Felongco, 2016).
In 2017, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon
power grid in yellow alert because of insufficient power supply from the power
plants. Because of this energy crisis, Filipinos are forced to buy emergency lights
for them to continue their work during night time. The NGCP announced that there is
a great demand in electricity in 2018 and there will be expecting potential power
outages.
According to the 2014 and 2015 annual accomplishment report of the Bureau of Fire
Protection (BFP), there was a 7.81 percent increase in the number of fire calls
responded from 15,897 in 2014 to 17,138 in 2015. Out of 15,897 fire incidents
occurred in 2014, there are 593 cases due to unattended lighted candle or gasera
and 1,514 due to open flame caused by torch. In 2015, there was a total of 2,077
cases occurred due to unattended lighted candle and open flame caused by torch
(BFP, 2015).
On the other hand, the Department of Energy (DOE) did not foresee any energy
shortages in Davao City for the next five years but has not ruled out outages that
may arise due to calamity, accidents and emergencies. The power situation in
Mindanao as of September 13, 2017 was placed at an average installed capacity of
3,141 Megawatts and Average Available Capacity of 2,097 Megawatts and it does not
affect those remote areas that has no electricity.
Therefore, researchers also want to exploit the potential of seawater as a new
renewable energy source to help seaside communities in Davao City benefit with this
study.
With smart design, humanity can efficiently harness seawater potential for power
generation towards a clean energy future.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The study wants to answer the following questions:
1. Is seawater a reliable energy source for lighting? and how much power can be
generated in this kind of power generation?
2. Will the increase of seawater salinity improve power generation for lighting
in seaside community?
3. What are the materials needed and the cost to produce the device?
1.3 Objectives
The study aims:
1. To provide cheaper and eco-friendly energy source for lighting in seaside
community.
2. To determine the effects of increase in seawater salinity to the power
generated.
3. To provide an estimated cost in producing the device.
4. To determine how long the device can produce enough power for lighting.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Our world has a fast-growing population and we cannot rely on energy sources that
are very expensive. Given that seawater is abundant globally, the outcome of this
study will contribute significantly to the global environmental sustainability
especially for seaside communities.
Renewable energy technologies should be utilized because of its low environmental
impact compared to conventional energy technologies. Increasing the number of such
technologies would allow us to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This
will ultimately improve public health and environmental quality. Thus, a smart
power generation system design is of vital importance.
Scope and Limitations
This study is limited only to the determination of reliability and potential of
seawater as a new renewable energy source for power generation system in lighting a
device along seaside communities in Davao City.
This type of electric generation does not produce large amount of power. This study
was intended for smaller loads like lighting a device in seaside areas.
This system is manually operated, thus it requires manpower for re-filling,
draining and mixing.
1.5 Definition of Terms
Power outage. Also called a power cut, a power blackout, or a long-term loss of the
electric power to a particular area
Renewable Energy- an energy that is collected from renewable energy resources,
which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain,
tides, waves, and geothermal heat
Electrification- the action or process of charging something with electricity
Seawater- refers to the water from sea or ocean
Permittivity- the ability of a substance to store electrical energy in an electric
field
Salinity- the measure of all the salts dissolved in water
Electrode- an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of
a circuit
Electrolyte- a substance that dissociates into ions in solution acquires the
capacity to conduct electricity
Evaporation- the process of a substance in a liquid state changing to a gaseous
state due to an increase in temperature and/or pressure
Filtration- a process used to separate solids from liquids or gases using a filter
medium that allows the fluid to pass, but not the solid
Zinc- refers to the metallic chemical element used as an electrode in electric
batteries
Copper- refers to the metallic chemical element used as an electrode in electric
batteries
Clean energy- an energy that does not pollute the atmosphere when used