Have a pee to charge your phone? This is possible according to the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). They are running a successful project that has the goal of turning waste into electricity. The microbial fuel cell is a fuel cell in which organisms convert (human) urine into electric energy.

The living organisms that are used, occur naturally in sediment, earth and even in our digestive system. They thrive on urine and produce electrons from this. In a set-up in the lab of UWE the process is optimized in a 3-step cascade system. Four of these cascade systems connected in parallel provide sufficient energy to charge a mobile phone.

A little more than half a liter of urine, according to experiments, will provide a modern smartphone with sufficient energy for a 3-hour call time.
 


More information: www.brl.ac.uk/researchthemes/bioenergyself-sustaining.aspx.