Urine could be the answer to cheaper electricity

[The Straight Story]

Urine could be the answer to cheaper electricity

Researchers from the University of the West of England, Bristol, have described a way of directly producing electricity from urine using Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs).

Their research is published in the latest Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.

The aims of the team included investigating whether untreated urine can produce electricity through MFCs and to calculate the energy yield from urine when utilised in MFCs. An estimated 6.4 trillion litres of urine is produced every year leaving the researchers to call urine a potential alternative energy source that has so far been neglected.

Three MFCs made from acrylic with 25ml anode and cathode chambers were used in the experiments. Anode and cathode electrodes were connected via small pumps to 1l reservoir bottles. Neat (unprocessed) urine was added either as large volumes, ranging between 25ml to 300ml, into the re-circulation reservoir bottle, or by small volumes, 0.1ml to 10ml, as injections directly into the anode inlets. Urine was used fresh or within one week from donation and the samples, between 400-500ml per donation, were taken from a single healthy volunteer on a normal diet with no history of urinary tract or renal disease.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-11-urine-cheaper-electricity.html

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Trickle-down energy?

[MADem]

2. Awww, piss on it!!!

You could have too much fun with this topic....

Pee has come a long way since it was used to dryclean Roman togas!!!

[The Straight Story]

3. I could pee in an electric car to keep going, no more stopping to take a whiz

:)

[madinmaryland]

7. It would sure make drinking and driving easier!!

:beer:

[RevStPatrick]

4. Ah, urine! Is there anything it can't do?

Gandhi drank his urine every morning.
It's good for ya!
And now, we find out he coulda used it to light up the bathroom that he didn't really need!

[tabatha]

5. Please hurry up with it before they dig up the environment

for solar panels.

[JaneQPublic]

6. Does that mean...

...that college fraternity keggers will be in line for tax breaks as an energy-producing enterprise, just like Exxon and Shell?

[Capn Sunshine]

8. Awesome! Pass the beer

and diuretics! We can power a city!

[NoGOPZone]

9. So pissing on a spark plug might actually work? nt