The new invention could turn urine into electricity

Researchers in the UK have developed a new microbial fuel cell device that uses bacteria to convert ordinary urine into electricity. They claim their new device is smaller in size, cheaper to produce and especially the output capacity is superior to that of previous generation generators.

" Microbial fuel cells really have the potential to produce bio-renewable energy from waste like urine, " explains chemical engineer Mirella Di Lorenzo at Bath University. emitting a huge amount of urine and if we take advantage of the potential to convert into their energy, this technology can truly revolutionize the way people produce electricity today. " .

Microbial fuel cells work by providing a special microorganism with organic materials and allowing them to convert that material into energy . Although not the only biotechnology capable of generating electricity (including anaerobic, gasification and anaerobic digestion), microbial fuel cells are the most efficient technology, using raw materials are cheap and in addition they do not produce waste. In particular, they can operate under normal room temperature conditions and under different atmospheric pressure effects.

New microbial fuel cells use bacteria to convert ordinary urine into electricity.

The biggest obstacle in the application of microbial fuel cells today is the cost of producing equipment. And this is also the reason why the battery of the science group is so highly appreciated. Their batteries, instead of using expensive materials like before, use only carbon plates and wires made of titanium, two relatively inexpensive materials.

To promote metabolism, their fuel cells use glucose and albumin protein in egg white as a catalyst. Researchers point out that these two ingredients are often found in food waste and are a perfect alternative to electrodes made from platinum before.

Especially with the impressive advantages mentioned above, this " cheap generator " also has outstanding power supply capacity compared to other similar devices. It is known that after doubling the length of the battery in the battery (from 4 mm to 8 mm) the researchers observed an increase in power output of up to 10 times, and continued to increase the number This up by combining three batteries together into one.

" I hope our microbial fuel cell could become an important source of electricity in rural areas and places that are poor in developing countries, " said Jon Chouler in the research team. "Our new device is cheaper, more powerful than any previous type of device. This device can produce electricity and provide an efficient and stable source of energy from domestic waste ."