PEE POWER! (Are you kidding?)

Yellow is the new green, apparently. I found this farfetched but researching it was ‘ap-pee-ling’. The University of Ohio has been working on alternative energy options and has identified urine as a good source for hydrogen molecules.

Using a nickel-based electrode, the scientists can create large amounts of cheap hydrogen from urine that could be burned or used in fuel cells. “One cow can provide enough energy to supply hot water for 19 houses,” said Geradine Botte, a professor at Ohio University developing the technology. “Soldiers in the field could carry their own fuel.”

By attaching hydrogen to another element, nitrogen, Botte and her colleagues realized that they can store hydrogen without the exotic environmental conditions, and then release it with less electricity, 0.037 Volts instead of the 1.23 Volts needed for water.

Botte's current prototype measures 3x3x1 inch and can produce up to 500 milliwatts of power. However, Botte and her colleagues are actively trying to commercialize several larger versions of the technology.

For livestock farmers who are required by law to pool their animals' waste, large scale prototypes could turn that urine into power within six months.

Now, lest you think this type of power is way off into the future, think again. Batteries using this technology are on the shelves in AA and AAA sizes in Japan. It can be recharged with a variety of liquids including urine and other precious bodily fluids, is supposed to last 10 years, and pumps out 500 milliamp-hours (mAh), which is equivalent to zinc-carbon batteries but a third of what an alkaline does.

I sure hope a user of this battery recharges them in the privacy of their bathroom.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Sources: Treehugger.com and MSNBC’s Technology news.