Green energy is the need of today, given the overwhelming increase in population and constantly depleting natural resources. Thankfully, a new innovative and 'green' approach has now been developed by a trio of young girls, which may permanently put an end to the world's fuel crisis.
Zainab Bello and her classmates Adebola Duro-Aina and Oluwatoyin Faleke have put forth a new system that uses urine as a source of fuel. Wonderfully, no terms and conditions apply, and this novel method may generate electricity as much as gasoline does, which is a remarkable feat indeed. These 11th-graders at the Doregos Private Academy in Lagos have also smartly eliminated the harmful effects of fuel use similar to that in gasoline use, which results in carbon monoxide emissions, leading to several health conditions.
Yet another added bonus is the fact that urine is available in plenty –– each human produces around two liters per day.
The system developed by these teens uses an ordinary generator, easily available at home-improvement stores, which was then modified to run on hydrogen gas, not gasoline. The electricity produced by the generator was used to break down water from the urine into its constituent molecules hydrogen and oxygen.
The hydrogen was then bubbled through water to remove any impurities and finally passed through a chemical solution to remove any water vapor that may be present. The finally obtained pure hydrogen was then ready to be used as fuel.
Though this method of generating a source of fuel is indeed innovative, a lot of research will be needed to be carried out to reduce its expense. This novel method of fuel generation may be particularly useful to develop new pollution-free fuel, thus reducing the effects of toxic waste generated by the different energy sources that we utilize today. Truly, motivating young budding scientists can be much more fruitful than expected.
This design was presented at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which also published Science News for Kids. This young team also plans to discuss ways to use the leftover chemicals after the generation of hydrogen fuel. They may be used as a good chemical fertilizer, they suggest.
