Urine-tricity: Electricity from Urine

Background

Worldwide there are over 2.5 billion without access to safe sanitation. In attempt to address this need The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are funding research on the topic: ‘Create the Next Generation of Sanitation Technologies’. As part of the Grand Challenges Exploration Scheme (Round 7) the Intelligent Bio Energy Group were awarded funds to support a project entitled 'Urine-tricity: electricity from urine'

Project Aim

The main aim of this proposal is to recover useful levels of electrical energy directly from urine, and thus convert an existing – entirely unexploited – waste into a sustainable fuel for the future, with concomitant clean water production.

To achieve this Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) utilize specialised, naturally-abundant microbes housed within the anodic chamber of the fuel cell as the bio-catalyst. The microbes are fed urine directly and as part of their normal metabolic process consume the urine which generates electrons and when connected to a cathode allows a path for these electrons generating current. In addition the passing of these electrons and protons through an ion-selective membrane, (which separates the anodic and cathodic chambers of the MFC), reacts with air generating clean water.

Project Goal

The principle that urine can be used directly to fuel MFC we have previously demonstrated (Ieropoulos et al; Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 94-98). However the challenge is to maximise the power output which will inadvertently have the advantage of improved break-down of the waste material (making it safer for disposal) and importantly maximising water production. It is endeavoured this will be achieved by miniaturisation and multiplications of connected MFC units – the ‘Grand Challenge’ of this project.

Page last updated 26 October 2012