WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Much Electricity Can Urine Provide?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic episode from

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<v Speaker 1>the brain Stuff archives. This one is kind of gross,

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<v Speaker 1>but also really cool. Researchers have worked out how to

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<v Speaker 1>power electronics with P Hey brain Stuff Lauren bogle Bam here.

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<v Speaker 1>The lights in portable bathrooms can now be powered with

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<v Speaker 1>P a transformation that has far reaching implications for sanitation

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<v Speaker 1>and developing countries with limited electricity. The development could also

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<v Speaker 1>advance safety in refugee camps, where a nightly walk to

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<v Speaker 1>the bathroom can be dangerous in the dark. Spanish researchers

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<v Speaker 1>at the University of the West of England have devised

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<v Speaker 1>a way for urine and bacteria to react and generate

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<v Speaker 1>enough energy to light led tubes. Researcher Irene Marino said

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<v Speaker 1>in a press release. The technology in the prototype is

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<v Speaker 1>based on microbial fuel cells. Marino and her colleagues detailed

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<v Speaker 1>their findings in the jury Anal Environmental Science, Water Research

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<v Speaker 1>and Technology. Basically, the microbial fuel cells act like batteries

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<v Speaker 1>with a positively charged anode and a negatively charged cathode.

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<v Speaker 1>When the microbial fuel cells are installed inside a urinal

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<v Speaker 1>bacterial grow on the anode electrode. These bacteria then begin

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<v Speaker 1>to decompose the organic material in urine, launching a metabolic

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<v Speaker 1>process that releases protons and electrons. The protons move across

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<v Speaker 1>a semipermeable membrane from the anode to the cathode and

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<v Speaker 1>meet up with electrons traveling through an external electrical circuit.

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<v Speaker 1>A complex electrochemical process called an oxygen reduction reaction in

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<v Speaker 1>the cathode then completes the cycle and while ah electricity

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<v Speaker 1>from urine. The journal article presents the results of two

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<v Speaker 1>recent successful field tests. One of the large scale tests

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<v Speaker 1>included public urinal cubicles at Glastonbury Festival, the UK's biggest

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<v Speaker 1>music fest. The urinals were used by thousands and generated

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<v Speaker 1>enough electricity about hundred milliwatts to light the cubicles interior

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<v Speaker 1>led tubes. Another urinal field test showed promising results on

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<v Speaker 1>the University of the West of England's campus. This prototype

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<v Speaker 1>generated about seventy five milliwatts. The researchers are now working

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<v Speaker 1>with a nonprofit organization to test the urinals at refugee

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<v Speaker 1>camps and in public toilets, currently without lighting. A prototype

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<v Speaker 1>with a design for female users is also in the works.

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<v Speaker 1>The hope is to light toilets and possibly even the

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<v Speaker 1>surrounding area in regions that use communal toilets outside of homes,

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<v Speaker 1>which in the dark present safety concerns. And this isn't

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<v Speaker 1>the only p technology in the works. The company nature Commode,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, is exploring ways to recycle urine from public

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<v Speaker 1>toilets into fast acting fertilizers for farmers. The treat of

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<v Speaker 1>urine is high in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients

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<v Speaker 1>that plants can readily absorb to Day's episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the article powering bathroom light with your urine on

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com, written by Laurie L. Dove.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with how stuff works dot Com, and it is produced

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