Essay

Work in Progress!

Working title

"April 6, 2012 - Information about Biophotovoltaics coming soon!"[ https://biophotovoltaics.wordpress.com/ ]

Intro

During a course the students WdKA Spatial Design visited the exhibition "Bio Design" in the New Institute in Rottedam.[1]
In a following course a student has been working on the design of a paviljon for a square in Rotterdam. She discovered that the square is covered with moss. She makes the connection with the Cambridge Moss Table [2] which was on display in "Bio Design". Based on this table, she calculated that around 12 square meters of moss were needed to illuminate the paviljon during the night.

What is the Cambridge Moss Table?

This table is designed by a team of designers and scientists at Cambridge University[ ]. It is called a prototype table and a showcase of emerging technology[ ]. Although the setup is not producing enough energy to power the lamp incorporated in the design in 2011 the technology is forecasted to be competitive with the solar cell within 5-10 years [3].

Why is the Moss Table made

"The moss table was produced as part of a research project called “Design in Science”, which set out to explore how designers might be able to support scientific research." [4]

About the predictions

"Currently, the moss generates about 50 milliwatts per square metre (mW/m2). Scientists anticipate that future devices may be able to generate up to 3W/m2 (Strik at al., 2011). "[5]

Calculations

The given figures or the table and moss .....

Mosstable: currently 50 mW/m2.[6]
Currently the table can produce about 520 Joules (J) of energy per day = 0.006 J/s (Watt) [7]
Predicted for moss: up to 3W/m2 = 3J/s.

In the article, these values are compared to a laptop consuming 25W (J/s).
The lamp fitted in the design table can be estimated at 10 - 25W.

Comparison with a solar cell: 5.2W [8], which is indicated to have enough power to charge your cell phone. My samsung cell phone uses 700mA at 5V for 4 hours meaning 3.5W during 4 hour is needed with an adaptor).

Comparison with a standard battery: 2000 mAh at 1.6V = 3.2 W during 1 hour.

Compare to solar power on a roof top: for Rotterdam, panel facing South [ http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/solar-irradiance.html]
From 0.80 kWh/m2/day in January to 4.98 kWh/m2/day in June = 1.38 W/m2

But considering moss:
Why moss and not another plant? The seasonal variation, a factor 7 for Holland, is this also valied for moss, since moss gets it's energy from light.

About the calculations

Each one generates a potential of about 0.4-0.6 volts (V) and a current of 5-10 microamps (µA).[9] In a comparable article [10] on BPV is briefly mentioned: "voltage and amperage were measured in all the experiments, and even though voltage was always present, no amperes were observed.".

Appreciation

"As for the rest, it was more difficult to say. There were some beautiful aesthetic pieces, like the Meridian Audio M80, the Moss Table and the Prestige kettle, which drew the eye with their innovative design." [11]

"A moss table has won the People’s Choice poll to be included in the Design Icons: Cambridge Innovation Festival exhibition at Anglia Ruskin University from February 8 to 23." [12]