Researchers test urine as potential energy source, portable urinals could create power from pee:

Researchers at the Bristol Robotics Lab are pumping money into experiments that will test urine as a new energy source.

Dr Loannis Leropoulos, who is heading the research, was awarded a $900,000 fellowship grant to develop effective ways to turn waste into energy.

He now plans to expand that research to include urine.

In recent years he has worked to create robots powered by Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs), which get their energy from the breakdown of garbage.

"Over the years, we have fed our MFCs with rotten fruit, grass clippings, prawn shells and dead flies in an attempt to investigate different waste materials," Professor Leropoulos told Science Daily.

Professor Leropoulos believes pee could prove to be a significant source of power, with preliminary tests showing it to be a very effective.

If experiments are successful, your next flush won't be a waste.

"We hope to work towards producing a prototype portable urinal which would use urine to create power from fuel cells," Professor Leropoulos said.

"We envisage that this could be used for example at music festivals and other outdoor events."

It isn't the first time scientists have suggested creative uses for urine, with two doctors earlier year proposing "urine therapy", even demonstrating uses for urine as a drink or skin cream.

Source: HearldSun.com