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The Potential of spoiled Kamias Fruit as

an Electrolyte of the Common Cell
t
Abstrach This study explored the possibility of using spoiled kamias fruit as an altemative
source
of power. It aimed to make dry cell contraptions with kamias fruit as the electrolyte and
to be able
to generate a substantial amount of potential difference from it.
Amgng the fruits that were pretested (papaya, Iatundan, scba, indian mango and kamias),
kamias
yielded the highest potential of about 0.8 V. Factors that may affect poteiUal difference, such as
Presence of water, acid and base and the rate of the fruit's spoiiage, weie tested on kamias. The test
results revealed that there was.no significant difference betwJen the voltage procluced by pure
kamias and those produced by kamias combined with water, basic or acicticlolirtions.
Using the zinc containets of old size C dry cell, the dry cell contraptions were conshucted.
The
kamias fruit was placed inside as the new electrolyte. The copper wire was soldered to
the base of
the cap and was used to seal the cell to replar:e the iarbon rod in common dry cells. The improvisecl
kamias cells were connected in series anc{were able to generateenough anrountof voltage
that coulcl
compete with the commercially available orres.

Irul-nopuqrroru Secondary to this objective is to make use of

Since the beginning o f lggl,the country has br.:en household wastes as a source of new berreficiai prod-
experiencing daily brownouts as a result of po,,vr:i. ucts. This is in response tc the popular clamor to
shortages. One logical solution to this major probiem reduce garbage and save the ertviionment.
is to look for nonconventional sources <lf eneigy. l)ry
cells-provide a source of power when electriciij. is not
available. Due to high demands, dry cells have
become expensive. This study looks for wavt; to
develop a cheaper altemative using what is practical-
l,v r:r:rnsidered garbage-the spoiled kamiai fruit.
\
'This project was submitted in parlial fullilhnerrt of the require.
menls in Besearch ll by students of the philippine Sci,:nce
High School.

Further clarification of the procedures and results should be

directed to the researchers/adviser.

if ,\ ir-i r-!/, I nr.ii SE]UIOR VOL.|4 NO.2

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 Rsvrrw orLrrnq.arunr
Elechochemiatry is a branch of chemistry which
deals wi th the relation of elec triclty to chemicai chang_
es and the interconversion of chemical and electricil

:n:rgy. To produce electricity, the reactants must

include one that easily loses e[ectrons and the other
one that accepts electrons. This electron donor-ac-
ceptor reaction is what takes place in a battery.
By joining cells together, one could make a bat-
tery. An electriccell always consists of two electrodes
and an electrolyte that ac-ts chemically on at least one
of them, The elechic energy comes from the chemical
energy of the materials of the cell. Different electro_
motive forces (emf) are produced by different elec_
ai.ff.e1e1t places. They were allowecl to
hodes dipped into various electrolftes. spoil (all of
which had a constant spoilage rate of three days),
The dqy cell is the most comrnon source of emf.
crushed and osterized separitety. for every
The carbon at the center of the cell is the positive fruii,
four samples of 50 g'each *", *"ighed. Water
electrode whi le the negative el ec trode i s the zinc. was
The accted ln varying amounts: S0 mL, 100 mL
e]grglyte is a paste consisting of ammonium chlo_ and 150
ft".last sample was not combined with any,
,1.d"
Iylgt)jndiszinc chroride (ZnCt,). Manganese T!
thing and was used as the control.
dioxide added as an oxidizing agenr. To
lY"ql
prevent the evaporation of the paste, the iontents
" . Using the voltage meter, the voltage procluced by
are each.of the samples of the frui ts was d6teimined.
sealedwith wax or pitch whici.r are nonconductors. nre
l€nrias fruit prod rrced tre highest voltage. The
When the cell is being used, zinc from the con_ a other
fnrits were then eliminated.
tainer goes into the paste as zinc ions. The 'fhe osterized sample
Zn,, of kamias was subjected to
displaces N!.' jn the paste. The displaced NI-t,,.
four different tests. Muriatic acid was added
combines with electrons from the carbon rod using
to form totfqryiry rarios of kamias ro muriaric acid: l:1,
These bubbtes of hydrogen lT
ll|r?e.i
polarize the"nd.J!Hr.B3s.
cell and decrease the cell,s ernf especia-lly
1:2 and 2:1. Pure kamias and pure
muriaticacid were
used as controls.
when it is oid. MnO, reacts with H. to foim H,O
depolarizing the cell. bepolarization takes time procedures, 0.S M H'SO. ancl
and ^.Y:,"g_,he.same
water in 1:5 ratio were used.
becauseof this, thecell shbuld be used intermittently a separlte sehrp,
I M NaOFI was then used in th" -Using
instead of continuously. fril;;;kamias to
NaOI-l ratio: 2:1, 1:1 and l:2.
The enerry stclred in the cell is dependent
on the The last test was the lime course experi ment.
amount of chemicals in the cell. The iarger The
cells can voltage reading were gathered for p,,rb kamias
shre larger amounts of chemical energliand sam_
can be pfe after 1l days, 14 days, 17 dayi,lg days
used for a longer time.
davs. ' t and 2l
The cells can be arranged in series to increase
the For the construction of the dry cell contraptions,
voltageor in parallel to piovide intreased electrical
old size
current in a circu it, In a series, the posi tive pole
of one 1A a.y cells and size C clry
cteaned. the zinc containers and the metals
cells were
cell is wired to the negative poie of the next. used tcl
In connect the electrodes to the ou tpu t were
parallel arrang€ment, the positive pole of one coliected. A
cell is copper strip about I in tong nira il+ in
connectd to the positive pole of t'he other, and the *i.f"
solrlered at the brass r:;lp reltacing the carbon
*u,
negative pole to the negative pole. rod.
The osterizal kamias was then ptac-eC irrsicle
the zinc
c'orrtiriners. These were sea!eci, using the
Mlrrnrars ANDMETTToDs cap with
copper strip and sealing r..,ax. Ttre u.olL.ge y;as
deter-
. Differentfruits (papaya, kamias, latunclan, saba,
ptneapple and indian mango) were gatherecl
minerl rrsing the voltagii meter.
'lhecells
fronr were conr]-r.tr,cl irr sr-,rie$ anr-l the vol

uAt{} r}r\r At{t sE/v/on voL.t4 tJo

17
 :l

determined. Results were gathered on a daily basis. of

The contraptions were covered with aluminum foil lable 2. Voltage reading (V) kamias (Tlme Course
Experiment)
to preventcontamination and evaporation and stored
in the refrigeratur. Trerlment

l{ rsurrs AND DrscusstoNs

The preliminary test which involvecl the adcli-
tion of water b the different fruits was performed to
determine the effect of water on the voltage reading After l4 days
of the fruits. Based on analysis of variance (ANOVA)
tests, there was no significant difference in the volt-
age readings of pure samples and those added with After 17 days
lvater for all the fruits tested. Kamias, however,
proved to yield the highestvoltage and so the others After 2'l days
were eliminated. The
Sgh yield is due to the high
acidity of the fruit. However, the ions present in
kamias which cause the flow of the current have not
been identified and tested.
Finally, spoiled kamias was used as an electrolyte
Table 1. Avenge readings (V) of the different fruits in improvised drycells. Results showed ihat thenew
improvised cells were able to generate 0.4 V to 0.g V,
By connecting them in series, the battery was able to
generate a substantial amount of voltage that could
compete with the commercial drfi cells.
From these results, the researchers concluded
that the spoiled kamias fruit has the potentials of an
elecholyte in a common dry cell.

SELECTED REFERENCES:
The addition of both acids, H,Se and HCt to the Brooks, W.O,, G.B. Tracy, H.E: Tropp and A,E, Friedi. 1966.
fruit showed no significant change in voltage read- Modern Phyelcal Sclence. New york: Holt, Rinehan and
ing. But, the addition of NaOH produced some
negative effects on voltage. These effects were con-
Frye, R.M. 1947. Egsential ol Apptied physles. New yorft.
Prentice-Hall lnc.
sidered insignificant though based on the ANOVA Quisumbing, 't978. llodicinal ptant ot the philippines.
E.
test. Quezon City. Katha Publishing Co., Inc.
The time course experiment yielded some posi-
tive results. Voltage readings were gathered until FESEARCHERS
after 27.days. Acidity was maintained for up to 2l Donalito L. Bales, Jr. Florence Nadine M. Gazo
Gsnevieve Rose H. Lorenzo Michellane T. Valerio
days. Slight fluctuations were observecl in the reaci-
Adeline D. Yeban
ings but were considered negligible. The rate of
spoilage had no effect on kamias,s potentia!. The test ADVISER
also proved that kamias was able to sustain its elec- Ms. Jessamyn O, Yazon
Philippine Science High Scltool, euezon City
tric p<ltential for several days.

Hr
18 nAl0 nAf-/\Nt SEMO? VOL.t4 NO.2 [,:
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