Mobile phone owners could soon be able to give their batteries a boost with their own urine.
British scientists at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory have developed a way of using urine as a power source to generate electricity and claim to have created the world's first microbial fuel cells (MFC) powered mobile phone.
While many people might turn their noses up at the energy source, the researchers said that it is the 'ultimate waste product' and does not rely on the erratic nature of the wind or the sun.
The scientists shared their breakthrough in the Royal Society of Chemistry Journal of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.
Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos, an expert at harnessing power from unusual sources using microbial fuel cells at the University of West England, Bristol, which was also involved in the research, said the urine-powered phone is a 'world first'.
'No-one has harnessed power from urine so it’s an exciting discovery.
'Using the ultimate waste product as a source of power to produce electricity is about as eco as it gets.
'One product that we can be sure of an unending supply is our own urine.
'By harnessing this power as urine passes through a cascade of MFCs, we have managed to charge a Samsung mobile phone.
He believes that the reliability of the fuel source is a big selling point.
The scientists shared their breakthrough in the Royal Society of Chemistry Journal of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.
Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos, an expert at harnessing power from unusual sources using microbial fuel cells at the University of West England, Bristol, which was also involved in the research, said the urine-powered phone is a 'world first'.
'No-one has harnessed power from urine so it’s an exciting discovery.
'Using the ultimate waste product as a source of power to produce electricity is about as eco as it gets.
'One product that we can be sure of an unending supply is our own urine.
'By harnessing this power as urine passes through a cascade of MFCs, we have managed to charge a Samsung mobile phone.
He believes that the reliability of the fuel source is a big selling point.
Dr Ieropoulos said: 'Essentially, the electricity is a by-product of the microbes’ natural life cycle, so the more they eat things like urine, the more energy they generate and for longer periods of time.'
The electricity output of MFCs is relatively small and the researchers are currently only been able to store and accumulate low levels of energy into capacitors for short charge and discharge cycles.
However they claim that this is the first time that scientists have been able to directly charge the battery of a device such as a mobile phone and it should be seen as a significant breakthrough.
They believe that their research, which was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Gates Foundation and the Technology Strategy Board, has the potential to be installed in bathrooms.
The scientists think that the technology could be installed into domestic bathrooms int he future to harness the urine and produce sufficient electricity to power showers and lighting...or at least electric shavers.
Dr Ieropoulos said: 'We are currently bidding for funding to work alongside partners in the US and South Africa to develop a smart toilet. Watch this space.'
用尿液给自己的手机电池充电？对此奇思妙想，你一定感到很诧异。
据英国《每日邮报》7月16日报道，英国布里斯托尔机器人研究所的科学家们已经开发出一种用尿液发电的技术，且以此技术造出了世界上第一部用微生物燃料电池（MFC）供电的手机。
尽管很多人可能会对“尿液”能源源嗤之以鼻，但研究人员表示，这种能源是对“人体终极排泄物”的再利用，可不需再依赖风和阳光这些不稳定的能源。
扬尼斯•耶罗普洛斯博士是英国布里斯托尔西英格兰大学非常规能源利用领域的专家，他也 参与了这项研究，他称这部用尿液供电的手机是“世界第一”。“还从来没有人用尿液当能源，所以这是一个令人兴奋的发现。用人体的最终排泄物作为能源来发电 也非常环保，我们可以肯定我们的尿液是取之不尽的。用此技术，我们已经成功用微生物燃料电池为一部三星手机充了电。”
他认为，“尿液”能源可源源不断供应是一大卖点。
这种能源的优点在于，我们可以不需依赖自然界的风和阳光这些不稳定能源，实际上，这是利用废物创造能源。
“目前我们已经用微生物燃料电池产生了一些电力，可满足手机发短信、浏览网页和打个简短的电话。”
不过，扬尼斯说，如果要长时间打电话，电力还远远不够。“用手机打电话最耗电，但我们最终将能够满足手机长时间打电话的需求。”
“这项技术已经得到了检验，是有效的。我们现在要做的是进一步完善它，使我们可开发出能给手机充满电的微生物燃料电池。”
微生物燃料电池其实就是一种能量转换器，利用活的微生物的新陈代谢，将有机物直接转换成电力。扬尼斯说：“从本质上说，电力只是微生物自然生命循环过程中的副产品，所以，它们‘吃’尿液之类的东西越多，产生的能量就越多。”
由于微生物燃料电池输出的电力比较小，目前研究人员仅能在电容器中存储很低的电量，所能达成的充放电周期也很短。
不过，科学家们称这应被视为重大突破。
这项研究由英国工程和物理科学研究委员会、盖茨基金会和英国技术战略委员会资助，科学家们认为它将来有望用于卫生间。
利用尿液所产生的充足电力可供应卫生间的淋浴器和照明设备，或者至少是电动剃须刀。扬尼斯说：“我们打算和来自美国和南非的伙伴开发一种智能厕所，目前我们正在融资，大家可拭目以待。”