Would You Fuel Your Home With… Pee?

Urine! It’s disgusting, not to mention a sanitation problem. But new research says it cold be put to good use creating electricity.

Dr. Joannis Ieropoulos at the University of West England in Bristol published research in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (which thank goodness goes by PCCP) that showed urine is chock-full of chemicals that can run a microbial fuel cell. The scientists are working on a prototype that could power your home or business.

The researchers are particularly interested in using the 38 billion litres of urine produced each day by farm animals, which can have an adverse effect on the environment if not properly managed.

They promise the fuel cells would also clean the urine so it would be less disgusting and not endanger the environment. Glastonbury festival founder Michael Eavis says he’d try it out at his music event. Having unwittingly witnessed porta-potty trucks hauling off giant loads of human waste from Outside Lands, this seems as if it would be a godsend. But the yuck factor here is strong — too strong for widespread adoption of pee power?

[The Guardian]

Image: Shutterstock/AlexRoz.