A Urine Powered Generator

[realitycorrodes]

http://makerfaireafrica.com/blog/

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).

1 Liter of urine gives you 6 hours of electricity.

The system works like this:

Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which separates out the hydrogen.
The hydrogen goes into a water filter for purification, which then gets pushed into the gas cylinder.
The gas cylinder pushes hydrogen into a cylinder of liquid borax, which is used to remove the moisture from the hydrogen gas.
This purified hydrogen gas is pushed into the generator.

Along the whole way there are one-way valves for security, but let’s be honest that this is something of an explosive device…

[provolon]

How much does it cost?
lets sell them, we can get foundings in kickstarter.com
* It is a great project!!!




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my ET's blog http://extraterrestres101.blogspot.com/

[Lifebringer]

Great that means the urine waste from buildings in the cities and cul de sacs in the rural areas can run off the waste. The City can provide the citizens their own power and instead of charging them for urine, there is no choice in what to do with it, unless communities build their own, but those who don't can have city power, because they have the waste treatment facilities to expand it. This is wonderful, and think of the savings to the oceans where the waste now pollutes. Have you ever seen a pool when someone urinates, it's green, so when you see our oceans turning green, it's because the sodium bicarbonate content is way over in acid levels. I've always wanted to in my next life, do oceanic research on cleansing the oceans, and this is great.

[Robert J. Niewiadomski]

Unfortunately there are "some" drawbacks with the current version of the device :(


(...)
The electrolysis of urea to generate the hydrogen requires an electrical input. As such the urine cannot be used to create electricity in an area without an existing power supply.

“It’s a wonderful idea and really encouraging to see people working to convert waste products to something useful, but considering the required inputs I’d be surprised if the overall gain was positive,” said Oliver Warr, a researcher at the University of Manchester. “If there was an alternative method of generating the hydrogen, such as microbial, that would be better.”

Another consideration would be the longevity of the device: “Urine isn’t just composed of urea,” explains Warr. “There are a lot of salts as well. Electrolysis of salt water creates more hydrogen but also chlorine, which could combine with the hydrogen to form hydrochloric acid — not good for the long-term health of a generator’s innards!”

These issues, coupled with the complexities of storing hydrogen safely, mean the generator may not be an immediately marketable prospect, but it demonstrates the potential for using the abundant resource that is urine to create valuable products.

Source: http://www.wired.com/design/2012/11/urine-powered-generator/

[meat suit]

jep, looking at that photo, i am sure that this is nothing but a concept... school project or the like...

[Mike]

i know nothing of science and am too lazy to research this, but i thanked the post anyway. i just love the idea of pissing in something to keep the electricity going. i reckon i could easily keep a small 3rd world country going for a week after a Saturday night down at the pub.

[foreverfan]

Does it work with cat urine?

[conk]

Hmmm, thinking for the tax man. Aha! Peter Meters!

[Debra]

Exciting. Something auspicious is happening when four young girls create a urine fed generator. Piss is the new black when you thing about it. Drink it, wear it and go off the grid with it. I am waiting for the definitive world of urine coffee table book.

[torti]

I am waiting for the definitive world of urine coffee table book.

haha awesome, I'd buy it!

I think this is a great idea. It may require power to make power, but the new power would be free essentially. It may not be the answer/solution, but it is a start. These four girls are switched on, and surely that creativity will continue as they learn and grow. Who knows what great things they may come up with in the future!