Power cell phone with your pee: Turn urine into electricity.

Pee the Power

 

Scientists in the United Kingdom are claiming they have discovered a way to charge mobile phones using human urine.

The Bristol-based boffins have been able to charge a Samsung phone by putting urine through a cascade of microbial fuel cells.

Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulus at Bristol Robotics Laboratory

Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulus of the the Bristol Robotics Lab explains how mircrobial fuel cells, pictured at right, turn urine into electricity.

Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulos

The research team has developed microbial fuel cells that consume carbohydrates, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and other compounds that would otherwise go down the drain. If you can get past the gross-out factor, the benefits to places in the developing world and elsewhere that lack reliable (or affordable) sources of electricity are obvious.

The project reminds me of another one showcased at Maker Faire Africa last year: a urine-powered generator.

A Urine Powered Generator

Possibly one of the more unexpected products at Maker Faire Africa this year in Lagos is a urine powered generator, created by four girls. The girls are Duro-Aina Adebola (14), Akindele Abiola (14), Faleke Oluwatoyin (14) and Bello Eniola (15).where they claimed 1 Liter of urine gives 6 hours of electricity.

There’s an added benefit of the microbial fuel cell technology, too. According to researchers, passing the urine through the fuel cells “cleans” it so it can be safely discharged into the environment, eliminating the need for wastewater treatment. Maybe sewage plants could double as power plants. Pee pee becomes a win-win.

If the output of the fuel cells could be expanded, what applications can you imagine for this technology?