Puddle power!

If you’re looking for a novel way to charge your mobile phone, urine luck as scientists from the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, a collaboration of the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol, have invented a new microbial fuel cell that turns your waste into electricity.

The microbial fuel cell contains special bacteria which breaks down the elements of urine to produce electrons, which create an electrical charge that is stored in the fuel cell.

Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos from UWE Bristol is an expert at harnessing power from unusual sources using microbial fuel cells.

He said: “We are very excited as this is a world first, no-one has harnessed power from urine to do this so it’s an exciting discovery. Using the ultimate waste product as a source of power to produce electricity is about as eco as it gets.

“One product that we can be sure of an unending supply is our own urine. By harnessing this power as urine passes through a cascade of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), we have managed to charge a Samsung mobile phone. The beauty of this fuel source is that we are not relying on the erratic nature of the wind or the sun; we are actually re-using waste to create energy.

“So far the microbial fuel power stack that we have developed generates enough power to enable SMS messaging, web browsing and to make a brief phone call.

“Making a call on a mobile phone takes up the most energy but we will get to the place where we can charge a battery for longer periods. The concept has been tested and it works – it’s now for us to develop and refine the process so that we can develop MFCs to fully charge a battery.”

The project has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Gates Foundation and the Technology Strategy Board.

The scientists believe that the technology has the potential to be installed into domestic bathrooms to harness the urine and produce sufficient electricity to power showers, lighting and electric razors too.