According to the BBC website, urine, faeces, and sanitary products are stinking, but they are expected to become the new type of green fuel in the 21st century and promote the improvement of the health status of the world. Untreated human excreta may contaminate water, rivers and coastal areas. Unclean drinking water and toilets need to be improved are a serious problem in developing regions. In more developed areas, a large amount of energy is required to treat wastewater to ensure water security.
Some researchers let us change. Human excrement has the potential to become a precious commodity.
Some creative engineers are studying how to turn human excreta into home lighting energy or automotive power. Let us see how this is achieved.
Microbial boost, urine change power
Researchers at the University of the West of England have created a microbial fuel cell that converts urine into electricity with the help of bacteria. This power can be used for tasks such as lighting small rooms and charging small electronic devices.
The unique thing about fuel cells is that they contain bacteria. This type of bacteria usually grows on the bottom of the metal of marine vessels and oil rigs. In this type of battery, bacteria grow on the electrodes and feed on organic matter in the urine. When the urine flows through these bacteria, it produces a small current.
(From 2015 to 2017, researchers have managed to reduce the size of microbial fuel cells while increasing efficiency.)
According to Ioannis Ieropoulos, a professor at the University of the West of England, "This technology not only purifies wastewater, improves sanitation, but also generates electricity." He is also director of the Bristol Bioenergy Center and is also Research project leader.
Researchers have used this kind of urine powered battery to charge smart phones, but it takes about 64 hours to fully charge. These batteries can generate nearly 1 ampere of current and about 3 volts. However, Jerpoulos believes that the power of the battery can be further improved by adjusting materials and processes.
In some areas where health conditions are worrying and electricity is not widely available, this technology is expected to have a huge impact. At present, more than 2.5 billion people around the world cannot enjoy safe and sanitary conditions, and 1.2 billion people are without electricity. In July this year, the research team installed the microbial fuel cell stack at a women’s school in Uganda to provide lighting for the toilets and a passage in the school.
(A bacteria school in a remote area of Uganda where bacteria are lighting the toilet.)
(The pipeline from the toilet leads to the building where the microbial fuel cell stack is placed.)
The technology can also be applied in developed countries.
He pointed out that “Sewers all over the world emit large amounts of wastewater every moment. This is the greatest potential of this technology. If we install the battery as close to the source of the wastewater as possible, we can generate electricity for home appliances. And reduce the workload of wastewater treatment plants."
Faeces turn waste into treasure
Human feces are expected to be used for microbial fuel cells. Jeopoulos is working with US researchers through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Foundation is developing technologies that convert solid manure into sludge that can flow through fuel cells.
Jeropros said: "We have tested this fecal sludge in batteries. The sludge is richer in nutrients and therefore can generate more electricity."
In Bristol, United Kingdom, Wessex Water installed a biogas plant in a sewage treatment plant that converts raw sewage to 56 million liters of biomethane per day.
According to a report by the UNU, headquartered in Japan, if all human excrement is converted to biogas, it can provide electricity to 138 million households.
In the sewers below towns and cities, there are some odious things that can come in handy.
Giant Grease Block Avatar Biodiesel
In almost every city in the world, solid waste accumulates and becomes a big fat person that blocks the sewers. This solid waste is solidified by grease and personal hygiene products that are flushed down the toilet.
The grease block found on a sewer in White Chapel, London last month was one of the largest grease blocks found and disclosed. It is 250 meters long and is twice the length of Wembley Stadium and weighs 130 tons. It took nearly three weeks for the staff to clear it. However, the grease block has not been thrown into the landfill. An innovative processing plant transformed it into 10,000 litres of biodiesel, which can be used for buses and trucks.
The factory is operated by Argent Energy in Cheshire, northern England. The technology developed at the plant is capable of converting stench and dirty grease into clean fuel. The technology filters the soil, alters the fat chemistry using esterasesterification, and then distills. The resulting fuel can be used in standard diesel engines after mixing with regular diesel.
(Clogged dirty oil can be turned into clean biodiesel.)
According to Dickon Posnett, director of development at Agin Energy, “these things plug the sewers, but they contain a lot of substances that can be turned into fuel.” Persnett estimates that the sewer and water treatment from the UK each year The oil extracted from the factory has 300,000 tons to 400,000 tons. In five years, New York has spent as much as $18 million on grease plugs.
At present, Argent Energy's processing plant receives about 30 tons of sewer fat from a processing plant in Birmingham, UK every week, producing approximately 2,000 liters of fuel. But Persnett believes that after the plant is fully operational, it can produce up to 90 million liters of biodiesel per year.
This factory can handle not only grease blocks.
"The factory can handle a variety of highly degraded fats and fats," said Persnett. "Therefore, it is also possible to deal with deodorant mayonnaise or soup."
Feeding feces on black water larvae is crushed into feed
The AgriProtei company in Cape Town handles food waste more unusually. The company breeds black-water larvae that feed on waste food, dehydrate them, and extract nutrient-rich oils from them. This oil is edible for livestock and is an environmentally friendly feed.
AgriProtein has set up an industrial-scale factory in South Africa to handle food waste, but now these treatments also apply to human waste.
BioCycle is using AgriProtei's feed to treat human feces. The company’s director, Marc Lewis, said: “Flies like human excrement.” BioCirculation has set up a pilot plant in Durban, South Africa, from 80,000 toilets in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Three tons of manure sludge was collected.
Blackwater larvae larvae were implanted in the sludge and 13 days later the larvae were collected and processed into feed. Lewis predicts that as many as 940 litres of oily fuel can be manufactured each week when the plant is fully operational. In addition to being sold as fuel, this oil also has other uses. It is rich in lauric acid, a compound commonly found in coconut oil and is commonly used in soaps and moisturizers.
Lewis also believes that turning waste into treasure has great development prospects.
He said, "With the further study, we can apply industrial knowledge to other hazardous wastes." These wastes include animal manure or surplus feed in meat processing plants. How to deal with these wastes is becoming a major issue for the world.
Thanks to advances in science and technology, the most unpleasant things are expected to contribute to building a better future.
