Pee: The New Alternative Gasoline
Chances are we’d put into reality the nursery rhyme phrase “wee, wee all the way home” real soon.
Researchers at the Bristol Robotics Lab have discovered that urine can be used to power a microbial fuel cell (MFC). This kind of fuel cell uses bacterial cultures to break down 'food' to create power. In a press release Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulo, one of the researchers working on this project, explains:
"Urine is chemically very active, rich in nitrogen and has compounds such as urea, chloride, potassium and bilirubin, which make it very good for the microbial fuel cells. We have already done preliminary tests which show it being a waste material that is very effective. Although it is early days for this research, we hope to work towards producing a prototype portable urinal which would use urine to create power from fuel cells. We envisage that this could be used for example at music festivals and other outdoor events."
The next step for the team, he says, is making MFCs scalable so they can work as “stacks” – a series of cells connected electrically and by a system of continuous-flow liquid feed lines. The challenge is that each MFC should be isolated from each other yet still use the continuous flow system so as to increase efficiency.
Image courtesy: Wikipedia Commons; Via Discovery News.
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I can see it now...cars on the side of the road with people pissing in the gas tank.
I can finally afford to drive my car!
"The challenge is that each MFC should be isolated from each other yet still use the continuous flow system so as to increase efficiency."
No, I think the challenge is getting the cars to not smell like pee while they run.
Excellent. Savings on the water bill as I won't have to flush as much
Now to invent driver and passenger side urinals....even the toddlers can help pay for the trip to the playground
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"The challenge is that each MFC should be isolated from each other yet still use the continuous flow system so as to increase efficiency."No, I think the challenge is getting the cars to not smell like pee while they run.
^ funny.. but true
Great!! step 1 Buy beer, step 2 drink beer, step 3 fill 'gas' tank
Finally, a use for bums on the street
Great news. Power the vehicle and prevent kidney stones at the same time.
I can see it now...cars on the side of the road with people pissing in the gas tank.
LOL!
Now to invent driver and passenger side urinals....even the toddlers can help pay for the trip to the playground .
Why not have "devices" for "docking" with your urine "output" appendage?
Gotta go gotta go... But what happens when your tank is full?
Not only is filling the car up fun...we now do it as a family
Better #1 than #2
Chevy Watersport...
Finally!! No more looking for toilets on those long road trips!! Hope they can come up with some use for number 2s as well
This gives a whole new meaning to pissing away money on gas.
I can hear the teenage pranks now...
"Okay, very funny. Which one of you dropped a deuce in my gas tank!"
Finally, a use for bums on the street
Please. Getting urine from bums off the street is almost as bad as fueling up at Valero. Nothing but Top Tier urine for my car.
I guess that Mega cola i downed today could be useful
I can hear the teenage pranks now..."Okay, very funny. Which one of you dropped a deuce in my gas tank!"
The mystery of the "Car Urinal Deuce", Mmmmmkay?
I can see it now...cars on the side of the road with people pissing in the gas tank.
loooooooooooooooool i love u man
Holy...oh wait, wrong end.
does this that people with STD can also benefit from this invention? i am sure that it will throw off the chemical imbalance, lol. Don't forget to wrap your shit before you pee...wait you can't do that, lol
Mixing urine with your poops will produce yet a more powerful and reactive chemical/bacterial soup than just urine alone. I can imagine people mixing these stuffs and pour the soup into the gas tank on the side of the road.
OMG, does this mean I have to ask strangers to pee in my tank for long trips??
This will encourage drink driving no? ;D
The weaker sex will have tough time do piss on the side of the car..
Maybe now they won't call it gast tank, how about wee tank or toilet tank? How much beer do you need to fill the wee tank?
how about women
how about women
Maybe a driving seat catheter, or where the fuel cap is there is an adapter shaped like a baseball mit.
Please. Getting urine from bums off the street is almost as bad as fueling up at Valero. Nothing but Top Tier urine for my car.
I would have thought bums piss would be like rocket fuel