And I'm only counting humans: until yesterday it was considered an unpleasant waste product (except for diehard lovers of the drink). Today a team of English scientists has discovered a possible and very useful application that would help transform urine into electricity.
Doctor Ioannis Ieropoulos and his team at the University of Bristol published the surprising results of a study last week demonstrating how urine can be successfully used in microbiological fuel cells. The publication explains that the liquid can act as a cathode in a battery, reacting with a bacterial anode.
Even the first tests confirm the feasibility of Ur-Ba batteries (I baptized them on the Urine-Bacterial field, but I am sure that the business world would know how to make the name much more pleasant): at this point the research group is developing a first prototype.
At present, the small activated circuits do not produce a large amount of energy: it is clear that a hypothetical 'urine power plant' should be powered by a constant flow of this 'catalyst': Dr. Ieropoulos therefore relies on the urine produced daily by farm animals (38 billion liters is quite a lot).
“The impact of this technology could be enormous, because it involves a change in thinking compared to 'waste' which can instead offer great potential in the future,” says the academic. Below whose turn it is, therefore: consider your next bathroom stops with a touch of nostalgia, remember that you are giving up something precious.
