AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Home
GOALS
Climate Action
KEYWORDS
energy, upcycling, biogas
COUNTRY
Mexico
DESIGNED BY
Gabriel Luna-Sandoval
WEBSITE
https://phys.org/news/2016-06-mexican-gas-urine-shower.html
Turning Urine into Biogas
Turning urine into biogas
Luna-Sandoval has extracted oxygen from urine, and he said that astronauts could take a small device in space to create O2 with their own bodily fluid in case of emergencies.
But the first application for his invention would be more terrestrial. Instead of using liquefied petroleum gas, which is widespread in Mexican homes but contributes to climate change, people could have a special container to transform their urine into a biogas.
The mechanical engineer created a clear acrylic container, which looks like a square vase, in which urine is poured. His prototype, which measures about 20-square-centimeters, has stainless steel electrodes to send electricity into it in order to separate oxygen and hydrogen, with the latter becoming a biogas.
The container would be connected to a home's pipes through which the biogas would travel to heat the water in the kitchen and bathrooms.