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"It's basically a live trial to demonstrate the microbial
fuel cell technology over a long period of time; how it can
continuously generate electricity from urine in real time."
Male students are invited to use the urinal, which transports
their urine down a pipe to storage containers underneath. There
it's continuously cascaded through 288 microbial fuels cells.
These hold live microbes which feed on urine and convert it into
the electricity to power the cubicle's lighting. And to ensure a
steady stream of donations, it's been positioned outside the
student bar. Ierpolous says the student's urine could prove a
particularly strong energy source. "We're hoping to see some
improved performances from people coming out of the bar after
the consumption of certain beverages."
The team proved in 2013 that urine could partially power a
mobile phone. Their latest microbial fuel cells are more
efficient and cheaper to produce. They hope the technology could
vastly improve women's safety in refugee camps that often have
poorly lit sanitation zones.
Oxfam's Andy Bastable says if it's successful, the technology
could be rolled out more widely. "In any poor community that
doesn't have electricity at night it would be a game-changer for
them." The prototype pee-power toilet will remain in situ for
about three months to test its efficiency, with the first
fully-function cubicle sent out to refugee camps later this
year.
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