Pee. What can’t it do? From its reputable use as a fertilizer to questionable use as a hangover cure, urine has way more uses than you might imagine (or even want to know in the first place). Seriously. Some people even claim drinking it makes you healthier. Sounds completely quack to me, but what do I know?
But in the realm of interesting uses for your own bodily fluids, using urine as a source of hydrogen to power the cars of the future is a serious undertaking and based on completely sound science
Urine to the rescue. Now some researchers at Ohio University have found that urine makes a much better starting point for generating hydrogen than water. The hydrogen found in urine is bonded much more loosely than in water. So loose, in fact, that by using simple and cheap materials hydrogen can be generated from urine. Gas2.0
For now, it doesn’t look as if the technology will be readily available anytime soon, as the method is “expensive and inefficient.” The process of ridding the urea molecule actually sounds like an unpleasant experience, as urea naturally “hydrolyses” into ammonia before generating gas phase ammonia emissions. From there, the stink just gets worse, and could lead to asthma attacks, chronic bronchitis, and premature death.
One expert applauds Botte’s attempt to find a more efficient way to obtain hydrogen without splitting water. Bruce Logan, an expert in energy generation from wastewater and director of Pennsylvania State University’s H2E Center and Engineering Environmental Institute, not only cautioned that urea converts to ammonia by bacteria rather quickly, but believes that the earth’s population should start shelving jars of pee, in the basement, or out in the barn.
“You have to remember about the P [phosphorus] in pee—globally we need to start thinking about conserving phosphorus for fertilizer, because, just like oil, one day the deposits are all going to run out and we need to start building phosphorus recycling into our infrastructure,” he said. Tom’s Guide
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