Water gives life, without water living beings can?t survive!

Water is used for drinking, bathing, cooking and cleaning at an individual level. However, most of the water is used for agriculture, industry & commerce, and electricity.

Ever wondered where does your electricity come from? Well, to name a few, coal-burning power plants, solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity is generated by flowing water. When water is made to fall on a turbine, it rotates. The turbine is connected to an electric generator which generates electricity.

Water plays a key role in generating electricity. Let?s dive into it to get a deeper understanding:

1. Rainwater To Produce Electricity

A lot of energy is stored in falling rain. The French Atomic Energy Commission built a device using a special plastic that converts the vibrational energy of a raindrop into electricity.
This method could be used in regions which receive heavy rainfall.
It can also be used seasonally such as the monsoon season.

2. Hydrogen To Produce Electricity

Hydrogen can be turned into electricity with the help of a device called fuel cell.
It is a challenge to get pure hydrogen.
Scientists have been working on a way to split hydrogen from water.

3. Seawater To Produce Electricity

A method is developed by U.S. Navy to convert seawater into electricity.
In this process, electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is combined with carbon dioxide that has been dissolved in water to produce a hydrocarbon (jet fuel).
This process is intensive and really only an option for nuclear-powered ships that needs jets in the air.

4. Bio fuels

Older bio fuels such as wood do not need a lot of water.
However, crops such as sugarcane and corn are specifically grown to produce ethanol and they need a lot of water.

5. Geothermal

The energy from inside the earth is used to produce power.
In hot surfaces where the hot rocks are deeper than the earth?s surface, cold water is pumped down wells to be heated and the hot water is extracted from other wells.

6. Fracking

Water is pumped deep underground to create cracks that allows access to trapped oil or natural gas.
Water is being diverted in certain areas to use it towards fracking.

Since water can be used directly or indirectly to produce electricity. It is crucial to save water to generate electricity. Methods for water conservation should be put into practice as every drop of water can be saved and used efficiently.

To help students understand the importance of water and how it can be used to produce electricity, activities can be organised to get their attention, such as:

I . A quiz on the importance of water conservation can be organised.

II. A Discussions with scientists and engineers who are in the research field can be held so that students get an in-depth understanding, and can even clarify their queries in the process.

III. Help students study areas that experience drought and find ways to overcome the difficulties faced by the local people.

IV. Organise career guidance on careers in environmental engineering so that students understand the fulfilling career path they can opt for while protecting the environment.

V. Organise an exhibition on conservation of water and various uses of water.

VI. Highlight the importance of every drop of water as students learn water can be used to generate electricity.

VII. Discuss on the areas in India that receive most heavy rainfall almost throughout the year and how this can be harnessed to produce electricity.

VIII. Ask students to educate adults at home and spread awareness about conserving water.

IX. Divide students in groups and present scenarios where they need to activate their problem solving skills.

Since schools are shut in the event of the current pandemic, take to online classes and organise webinars to educate and learn. The World Wide Web connects us and we can take advantage of this privilege. Let?s build future leaders that are change agents that are sensitized to the environmental issues and are lifelong learners.

Just Learning is constantly working towards bringing insightful ideas to help you grow holistically. When you implement any of the ideas we?ve suggested or if we?ve inspired you to come up with your own ideas, take pictures or videos of your project and share it on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with a string of these hashtags #justlearning #savewater #generateelectricity #waterconservation #produceelectricity #careerinenvironmentalengineering

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