Urine: The Next Energy Source

About a year ago, Professor Gerardine Botte of Ohio State University came up with the idea of generating electricity from urine. Urea the main constituent of urine has shown to be the major ingredient behind this technology. The best bet yet in proliferating this concept has been through the use of fuel cells. A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts chemical energy from a fuel (in this case hydrogen) into electrical energy. Botte applied the principle of electrolysis to dissociate urea (H2NCONH2) into its constituent hydrogen and nitrogen. This phenomenon had previously been tried on methanol but methanol has shown to be unstable and environment unfriendly. Unlike methanol, the presence of nitrogen in urea helps to make the hydrogen generated more stable.

The use of urea as an energy source isn’t altogether new.  It has been used to power particular components in some brands of cars, trucks and even used in some chemical batteries but its application has always been limited. Latest revelations in research shows urine could be the next third generation energy source. Nevertheless, studies into this particular field hasn’t been particularly smooth sailing and expectedly, faced major challenges as reminiscent with any project. First of all was the problem of storage of hydrogen. Hydrogen cannot be stored under normal atmospheric conditions but under standardized temperatures and pressures. Secondly, hydrogen fuel cells make use of platinum catalysts to oxidize hydrogen and turn it into positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons. Platinum is quite expensive and may not be commercially sensible to be included in the final product.

Interestingly, these shortcomings have been addressed in latest developments made by researchers from Heriot-Watt University, Professor Shanwen Tao and Dr. Rong Lan. They have both succeeded in creating a fuel cell prototype that can convert urine into electricity and clean water. This prototype is much more stable and makes use of cheaper catalysts. This fuel cell called the ‘Carbamide Power System’ can transform urine into nitrogen water, carbon dioxide and most importantly electricity. The research team believes this technology when fully developed can be applied in submarines, and in power generation within arid or desert regions where water isn’t actually an abundant commodity. Despite all the positivity, this renewable energy source still has to be checked for commercial acceptance and friendliness before it can be introduced into the market. Nevertheless, a giant step has been made towards the global development goals of a greener future.

Femi is a graduate of engineering and he is  presently specializing in the field of sustainability to advocate for a more greener world. Follow his blog by clicking here or typing http://www.greeenerenergy.wordpress.com in your address bar. You can also follow him on twitter at @ReelDealMe