The power of pee

The sound of flushing the toilet after peeing could be more valuable in the near future. Pee power is a prototype already being tested in the University Of The West Of England, Bristol.

It is the result collaboration between UWE and Oxfam to help relieve disaster victims in Africa, especially women who have to ease themselves at night in places where there is no electricity.

The research team is led by Professor Loannes Leropoulis and the prototype had been in the works for 13 years. The urinal works with microbial fuel cells, these use microbes that feed on urine to grow, and part of this biochemical process is converted into electricity.

This makes green energy accessible to everyone and also will help reduce carbon emissions. Imagine homes being powered by urine, going to the toilet will never be the same again.

Two years ago, a group of 14year old students in Lagos used a litre of pee to power a generator for six hours. Their generator uses a process of electrolysis; where the hydrogen is pushed into a gas cylinder that is used to power the generator.

It doesn’t just stop with pee, there are also technologies that convert faeces into electricity, talk about not putting your waste to waste.

-Story by Patrick Oke jr

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