'Pee-power' to light camps in disaster zones

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/news.aspx?id=3050

[font face=Serif][font size=5]'Pee-power' to light camps in disaster zones[/font]

Issue date: 05 March 2015

Launch of the 'Pee-Power' toilet - 5 March 2015 15:00 at UWE Bristol Frenchay Campus

[font size=3]A toilet, conveniently situated near the Student Union Bar at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), is proving pee can generate electricity.

The prototype urinal is the result of a partnership between researchers at UWE Bristol and Oxfam. It is hoped the pee-power technology will light cubicles in refugee camps, which are often dark and dangerous places particularly for women.

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"The microbial fuel cells work by employing live microbes which feed on urine (fuel) for their own growth and maintenance. The MFC is in effect a system which taps a portion of that biochemical energy used for microbial growth, and converts that directly into electricity - what we are calling urine-tricity or pee power. This technology is about as green as it gets, as we do not need to utilise fossil fuels and we are effectively using a waste product that will be in plentiful supply.”

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Professor Ieropoulos says "One microbial fuel cell costs about £1 to make, and we think that a small unit like the demo we have mocked up for this experiment could cost as little as £600 to set up, which is a significant bonus as this technology is in theory everlasting.”

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[Warpy]

1. Pee was so important in the ancient world that Rome levied a tax on it.

Laundries/fullers used fully ripened urine to remove grease stains from clothing and linens, the high ammonia content being a potent degreaser before soap was invented. It was also an important part of the dyeing industry and absolutely essential to indigo dyeing.

That it will likely be a great resource in the modern world as the oil finally runs out or the Middle East becomes unreachable due to war is no surprise. There's always been a use for it.

[PoliticAverse]

2. And to think all this time I've been throwing it out, I'm gonna start saving it in jars now. n/t

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. You might consider using it as fertilizer

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140202-peecycling-urine-human-waste-compost-fertilizer/

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Is "Peecycling" the Next Wave in Sustainable Living?[/font]

[font size=4]Human waste can be converted into valuable fertilizer, if people can get past the "ick" factor.[/font]

By Samantha Larson, for National Geographic
PUBLISHED February 02, 2014


Seth True of Best Septic Service pumps urine from a 275-gallon tank for transfer to the farm. A family of three can produce this much urine in eight months.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ABE NOE-HAYS, RICH EARTH INSTITUTE

[font size=3]The Rich Earth Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont, aims to shift how we think about our own waste. They want to "close the nutrient cycle" by using our urine to grow what we next consume.

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Most conventional farms invest in synthetic fertilizer, which requires energy to produce and is associated with many environmental problems of its own. But by separating out human urine before it gets to the wastewater plant, Rich Earth cofounder Kim Nace says they can turn it into a robust fertilizer alternative: a "local, accessible, free, sanitary source of nitrogen and phosphorous."

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"We're all afraid of our own waste," Chris Peot, manager of resource recovery at DC Water, explains. But he thinks that response can be worked around—the necessary paradigm shift is already underway. "This is sort of our new mantra: There's no such thing as waste, only waste of resources," Peot says.

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In fact, "peecyling" is a mainstream notion elsewhere in the world. Urine diversion for fertilizer can be documented back to 1867, and the U.S. is just starting to catch on to the trend that has become increasingly popular in countries such as Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands over the last decade or so.

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Hay growing in test strips illustrates the fertilizing power of urine. The green strip in the center received urine fertilizer while the lighter adjacent strips did not.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ABE NOE-HAYS, RICH EARTH INSTITUTE

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I don’t see why, after using the urine to generate electricity, it would not remain just as valuable as fertilizer.