Bristol - Researchers at Bristol Robotics Lab (BRL) are looking into the use of urine as the "fuel" for Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs), which use bacterial cultures to break down "food" to create power. MFCs are a developing technology used to power autonomous robots.

Researchers at BRL, a collaborative UWE/University of Bristol research facility, have spent three and a half years developing EcoBot-III, funded by EU FP-6 - a robot which can power itself by digesting waste. The early stage work of the EcoBot-III research was funded by EPSRC. A Fellowship Grant worth £564,561 has been awarded to Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos for a four year project to develop research into how waste could be used by Microbial Fuel Cells to generate energy.

A unique aspect of the research will be to look at the use of urine as a waste material that could be used to power the MFCs.

Dr Ieropoulos explains, “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 to use as a 'food source' for the Microbial Fuel Cells. We have focused on finding the best waste materials that create the most energy. Urine is chemically very active, rich in nitrogen and has compounds such as urea, chloride, potassium and bilirubin, which make it very good for the microbial fuel cells. We have already done preliminary tests which show it being a waste material that is very effective. Although it is early days for this research, we hope to work towards producing a prototype portable urinal which would use urine to create power from fuel cells. We envisage that this could be used for example at music festivals and other outdoor events.”

A further aspect of the EPSRC funded project is to develop the cathode side of the MFC so that the whole cell becomes self sustaining. Each MFC has an anode side and a cathode side which together as two half-cells complete the system to create power. Commonly bacteria are in the anode side, and chemicals or oxygen are in the cathode side, which complete the reactions (i.e. close the circuit). This research will develop the use of oxygen-producing organisms (such as algae) instead of chemicals in the cathode side of the MFC, thus moving towards a self-sustaining system – the waste from the algae can – for example – be used to feed the bacteria in the anode side, i.e. using its own waste to produce energy.

Dr Ieropoulos says, “The award of this grant is a huge step forward and a great challenge for me and the team. I am thankful to the EPSRC for giving me this great opportunity to integrate the three areas of research – creating stacks of MFCs, self sustainable cathodes and using waste products to produce energy. Advances in this area could provide a significant contribution to the challenges we currently face in terms of energy production and waste clean up. We hope this research will help change the way we think about energy and human waste.”

Quelle: University of the West of England, Bristol

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