Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi
Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic episode from
Speaker 1: the brain Stuff archives. This one is kind of gross,
Speaker 1: but also really cool. Researchers have worked out how to
Speaker 1: power electronics with P Hey brain Stuff Lauren bogle Bam here.
Speaker 1: The lights in portable bathrooms can now be powered with
Speaker 1: P a transformation that has far reaching implications for sanitation
Speaker 1: and developing countries with limited electricity. The development could also
Speaker 1: advance safety in refugee camps, where a nightly walk to
Speaker 1: the bathroom can be dangerous in the dark. Spanish researchers
Speaker 1: at the University of the West of England have devised
Speaker 1: a way for urine and bacteria to react and generate
Speaker 1: enough energy to light led tubes. Researcher Irene Marino said
Speaker 1: in a press release. The technology in the prototype is
Speaker 1: based on microbial fuel cells. Marino and her colleagues detailed
Speaker 1: their findings in the jury Anal Environmental Science, Water Research
Speaker 1: and Technology. Basically, the microbial fuel cells act like batteries
Speaker 1: with a positively charged anode and a negatively charged cathode.
Speaker 1: When the microbial fuel cells are installed inside a urinal
Speaker 1: bacterial grow on the anode electrode. These bacteria then begin
Speaker 1: to decompose the organic material in urine, launching a metabolic
Speaker 1: process that releases protons and electrons. The protons move across
Speaker 1: a semipermeable membrane from the anode to the cathode and
Speaker 1: meet up with electrons traveling through an external electrical circuit.
Speaker 1: A complex electrochemical process called an oxygen reduction reaction in
Speaker 1: the cathode then completes the cycle and while ah electricity
Speaker 1: from urine. The journal article presents the results of two
Speaker 1: recent successful field tests. One of the large scale tests
Speaker 1: included public urinal cubicles at Glastonbury Festival, the UK's biggest
Speaker 1: music fest. The urinals were used by thousands and generated
Speaker 1: enough electricity about hundred milliwatts to light the cubicles interior
Speaker 1: led tubes. Another urinal field test showed promising results on
Speaker 1: the University of the West of England's campus. This prototype
Speaker 1: generated about seventy five milliwatts. The researchers are now working
Speaker 1: with a nonprofit organization to test the urinals at refugee
Speaker 1: camps and in public toilets, currently without lighting. A prototype
Speaker 1: with a design for female users is also in the works.
Speaker 1: The hope is to light toilets and possibly even the
Speaker 1: surrounding area in regions that use communal toilets outside of homes,
Speaker 1: which in the dark present safety concerns. And this isn't
Speaker 1: the only p technology in the works. The company nature Commode,
Speaker 1: for example, is exploring ways to recycle urine from public
Speaker 1: toilets into fast acting fertilizers for farmers. The treat of
Speaker 1: urine is high in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients
Speaker 1: that plants can readily absorb to Day's episode is based
Speaker 1: on the article powering bathroom light with your urine on
Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, written by Laurie L. Dove.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership
Speaker 1: with how stuff works dot Com, and it is produced
Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio
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