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Directory: Urine-Powered Generator from Nigeria
From PESWiki
Compiled by Sterling D. Allan
Pure Energy Systems News
November 10, 2012
Four teenage girls have invented and demonstrated at the fourth annual Maker Faire Africa a generator powered by urine.
"What these kids are doing is taking urea electrolysis and making hydrogen and then using that hydrogen to make electricity", according to Gerardine Botte, a chemical engineer at Ohio University who invented the urea electrolysis process. [1]
According to TheNextWeb, here’s how it works:
- Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which cracks the urea into nitrogen, water, and 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.
- 1 Liter of urine gives you 6 hours of electricity.
According to NBC’s John Roach, expectations should be managed.
Botte said the technology is most practical as a way to make the wastewater treatment process more energy efficient, not as a primary power source. Wastewater treatment plants consume energy. Since urea is already being collected by such facilities, Botte says it makes sense to extract hydrogen from it. This in turn can be used to generate electricity, thus reducing the amount of outside energy required to run the wastewater treatment process. [2]
Official Websites
- Urea electrolysis: direct hydrogen production from urinew - A new technology has been developed that accomplishes the direct conversion of urine and urea to pure hydrogen via electrochemical oxidation with an inexpensive nickel catalyst. (ChemComm; July 1, 2009)
In the News
- Featured: Waste to Energy > from Sewage > Urine >
Urine-Powered Generator from Nigeria - Four teenage girls have invented and demonstrated at the fourth annual Maker Faire Africa a generator powered by urine. "What these kids are doing is taking urea electrolysis and making hydrogen and then using that hydrogen to make electricity", according to Gerardine Botte, a chemical engineer at Ohio University who invented the urea electrolysis process. (PESWiki; November 10, 2012)
- African girls’ pee-powered generator raises questions - A urine-powered generator presented by a group of school-age girls at an innovation fair in Africa is generating buzz as a world-changing breakthrough, but a reality-check with the expert who invented the contraption at the heart of the technology might flush those expectations down the drain. (NBCNews; November 9, 2012)
- Four teenage girls in Africa have invented a generator powered by pee - People pee a lot, and four African teenage girls have actually figured out a way to make pee useful. That’s right — even your pee. (Grist; November 9, 2012)
- Forget apps and useless startups: These four African girls have created a pee-powered generator - What have you built lately? 14-year-olds Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and 15-year-old Bello Eniola have created a urine powered generator. (TheNextWeb; November 7, 2012)
See also
GENERAL W2E
- Directory:Waste to Energy
- News:Waste to Energy
- Directory:Thermal Electric - e.g. waste heat
PREVENTION OF WASTE
- Directory:Energy Efficiency
- Directory:Conservation
- Directory:Recycling
- Directory:Home Generation:Gray Water Recycling
- Directory:Nuclear Remediation
TYPES OF WASTE-TO-ENERGY
- Directory:Plasma
- Directory:Energy from Sewage
- Directory:Plastic and Energy
- Directory:Plant-Based Plastic
- Directory:Biomass
- Directory:Biodiesel from Algae Oil
- Directory:Microorganisms in Energy Production
- Directory:Microbial Fuel Cells
- Directory:Non-Fossil Oil
- Directory:Refinery Flaring Recovery
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