Urine! Scientists generate electricity from bacteria in human waste

Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos is pictured at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory holding a phone powered by a microbial fuel cell stack. He believes the new technology could one day power homes in developing countries
The notion that homes could be fuelled by human waste, might not be an appealing thought, but it could transform people's lives in developing countries.


British scientists have already proved they can charge a phone by using urine to feed microbial fuel cells.
And they aim to scale up their innovation to provide much needed electricity and sanitation in the form of a clever bathroom system designed to be used in remote and poor areas of the world.

MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS

Microbial fuel cells are energy converters that turn organic matter directly into electricity by utilising the metabolism of live micro-organisms.
The electricity is a by-product of the microbes’ natural life cycle.
The more they eat things like urine, the more energy they generate and for longer periods of time
The electricity output of MFCs is relatively small and the researchers are currently only been able to store and accumulate low levels of energy into capacitors for short charge and discharge cycles.
They claim that this is the first time that scientists have been able to directly charge the battery of a device such as a mobile phone and it should be seen as a significant breakthrough.

The research is backed by the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation, as the Microsoft billionaire is keen to help to create a fully-functional system that could be installed in bathrooms to collect urine, which would be used to light and heat a house as well as power gadgets.
The system is being developed by The Robotics Lab - a collaboration between the University of the West of England (UWE) and the University of Bristol.
‘The beauty of this fuel source is that we are not relying on the erratic nature of the wind or the sun, said Ioannis Ieropoulos, project leader and researcher at UWE.
‘Using the ultimate waste product as a source of power to produce electricity is about as eco as it gets.’

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A number of fuel cells are pictured. They use urine as a source of power to produce electricity. By harnessing this power, researchers have managed to charge a Samsung mobile phone

Dr Ieropoulos said that the microbial fuel power stack has so far generated enough power to a person to send text messages, browse the Web and make a short call on their phone.
The technology works by using natural microbes housed within the fuel cell as a bio-catalyst. The microbes consume part of the urine, which generates electrons that when connected to a cathode, create an electric current.
While the technology is proven on a small scale, the scientists’ next aim is to refine the cell so that it can be used to charge a battery, which could power showers and light rooms.

Scientists use URINE to generate power

Tim Worstall, a writer and fellow at the Adam Smith Institute, London, is unsure whether the money spent on developing the cells could be better spent building traditional infrastructure.
He said: ‘The real question now to be researched is whether this method makes sense in those parts of the world where one of those three, or more likely all three of sewage, potable water and electricity, don't exist, Power Technology reported.
‘Would such technologies be cheaper than spending the money to actually go and build those systems?’ he added.
It might be a race to the finish to see whether the fuel cell technology or infrastructure projects will be the first to transform peoples’ lives.

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A single microbial fuel cell is pictured. The MFCs are energy converters that turn organic matter directly into electricity by utilising the metabolism of live micro-organisms

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