Urinal at
University of the West of England can generate electricity to power indoor
lighting, which Oxfam says show potential for use in refugee camps
 |
| A toilet at the University of the West of England is proving urine can generate electricity. Photograph: UWE Bristol |
A prototype
toilet has been launched on a UK university campus to prove that urine can
generate electricity, and show its potential for helping to light cubicles in
international refugee camps.
Students
and staff at the Bristol-based University of the West of England are being
asked to use the working urinal to feed microbial fuel cell (MFC) stacks that
generate electricity to power indoor lighting.
The project
is the result of a partnership between researchers at the university and Oxfam,
who hope the technology can be developed by aid agencies on a larger scale to
bring light to refugee camp toilets in disaster zones.
“We have
already proved that this way of generating electricity works,” said research
lead Professor Ioannis Ieropoulos, director of the Bristol BioEnergy Centre,
which in 2013 demonstrated MCF stacks generating enough electricity to power a phone. “The project with Oxfam could have a huge impact in refugee camps.”
The
technology uses microbes which feed on urine for their own growth and maintenance.
“The MFC is in effect a system which taps a portion of that biochemical energy
used for microbial growth, and converts that directly into electricity - what
we are calling urine-tricity or pee power. This technology is about as green as
it gets, as we do not need to utilise fossil fuels and we are effectively using
a waste product that will be in plentiful supply,” said Ieropoulos.
The urinal
- conveniently located near the Student Union bar - resembles toilets used in
refugee camps to make the trial as realistic as possible. The equipment that
converts the urine into power sits underneath the urinal and can be viewed
through a clear screen.
Andy
Bastable, Head of Water and Sanitation at Oxfam, commented: “Oxfam is an expert
at providing sanitation in disaster zones, and 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.”
An
estimated 6.4tn litres of urine is produced by humans across the globe every
year, so researchers believe it has great potential as a cheap and readily
available source of energy. Ieropoulos said the unit installed at the
university would cost around £600 to set up.
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A solar powered toilet designed by the California Institute of Technology for
the Reinvent the Toilet challenge. Photograph: Michael Hanson/Gates Foundation |
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