And I only count humans: until yesterday it was considered an unpleasant waste product (except for diehard drink lovers). Today a team of British scientists has discovered a possible and very useful application that would help transform urine into electricity.
Dr. Ioannis Ieropoulos and his team at the University of Bristol published the surprising results of a study last week, showing how urine can be used successfully 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 'central to urine' should be fed by a constant flow of this 'catalyst': Dr. Ieropoulos therefore trusts in the urine produced daily by farm animals (38 billion liters are not few).
"The impact of this technology could be enormous, because it involves a change of thinking from a 'rejection' that can instead offer great potential in the future," says the academic. Under whose turn it is, then: consider your next bathroom stops with a touch of nostalgia, remember that you are giving up something precious.
