Hey, why not? Every little bit helps.
From New Scientist...
Urine, he believes, could help solve the world's energy problems, powering farms and even office buildings. It is one of the most abundant waste materials on Earth, with nearly 7 billion people producing roughly 10 billion litres of it every day. Add animals into the mix and this quantity is multiplied several times over.
As things stand, this flood of waste poses a problem. Let it run into the water system and it would wipe out entire ecosystems; yet scrubbing it out of waste water costs money and energy. So wouldn't it be nice if, instead of being a vast energy consumer, urine could be put to use.
That thought occurred to Gerardine Botte during a discussion about possible sources of hydrogen for use in fuel cells. Last year, Botte's team reported that they had been able to generate hydrogen from urine using an electrolytic cell with cheap nickel-based electrodes running at only 0.37 volts- much less than the 1.23 volts it takes to split water.
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