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Pee-powered electricity for disaster zones
First it was poo-powered buses now it is pee-powered electricity.
Scientists at UWE have installed a new urinal in the students union bar which is generating electricity from wee.
But this is no gimmick – the prototype loo could be used to light up toilet cubicles in disaster zones, which are often dark and dangerous places particularly for women.
is needed now More than ever
The toilet has been jointly developed by UWE and Oxfam.
It works using by using microbial fuel cells which are full of living organisms. These organisms feed on the urine and the energy they create during feeding can be converted into electricity
The research team is led by Professor Ioannis Ieropoulos, director of the Bristol BioEnergy Centre, who said the project could have a huge impact in refugee camps.
He added that the “urine-tricity or pee power… technology is about as green as it gets”.
“We do not need to utilise fossil fuels and we are effectively using a waste product that will be in plentiful supply.”
The toilet at UWE resembles ones used in refugee camps by Oxfam to make the trial as realistic as possible.
Andy Bastable, head of water and sanitation at Oxfam, said: “It is always a challenge to light inaccessible areas far from a power supply.
“This technology is a huge step forward. Living in a refugee camp is hard enough without the added threat of being assaulted in dark places at night. The potential of this invention is huge.’”
Professor Ieropoulos said keeping costs down was a significant factor: “One microbial fuel cell costs about £1 to make, and we think that a small unit like the demo we have mocked up for this experiment could cost as little as £600 to set up, which is a significant bonus as this technology is, in theory, everlasting.”
Refugee camp photo credit:thomas koch / Shutterstock.com
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