Your Car and Home Could Soon Be Powered By Urine

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Your Car and Home Could Soon Be Powered By Urine

_http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/28/Your-Car-and-

Home-Could-Soon-Be-Powered-By-Your-Urine.aspx_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/28/Your-Car-and-Home\

-Could-Soon-Be-Powered-By

-Your-Urine.aspx)

 

 

Urine-powered cars, homes and personal electronic devices could be

available in six months.

 

Using a nickel-based electrode, scientists can create large amounts of

cheap hydrogen from urine that could be burned or used in fuel cells. One cow

can provide enough energy to supply hot water for 19 houses.

 

One molecule of urea, a major component of urine, contains four atoms of

hydrogen bonded to two atoms of nitrogen. If you place a special nickel

electrode into a pool of urine and apply an electrical current, hydrogen gas is

released.

 

A urine-powered vehicle could theoretically travel 90 miles per gallon.

 

 

Sources: _MSNBC July 8, 2009_

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31805166/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/)

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

 

Using urine as a source of fuel may sound like a bit of a stretch, but it’

s actually quite ingenious. It’s based on the use of hydrogen, the most

abundant element in the universe.

Hydrogen has been called “a _renewable, versatile, simple sustainable

domestic energy_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/03/29/radical-new-gas-a\

lternative-that-your-kids-will-be-using.aspx) †because it

can be produced from tap water to generate power for homes and cars.

However, one of the hurdles facing this alternative fuel source is that

hydrogen gas requires high pressure and low temperatures to be stored. It

becomes somewhat easier to store when it’s binded to oxygen to create water,

but even then it still requires large amounts of electricity to be released.

 

The Ohio University scientists who developed the urine technology found

that attaching hydrogen to nitrogen in urine allowed it to be stored without

the strict requirements of ordinary hydrogen, and allowed it to be released

with less electricity (0.037 volts versus 1.23 volts needed for water).

Ultimately they are working on developing a small-scale prototype for the

average consumer; a urine-powered vehicle could travel 90 miles per gallon,

and soldiers could have access to fuel even while on the battlefield. But

the first prototype likely to be released, in as little as six months, could

change the way modern-day farming works.

By collecting urine from livestock, which is right now a major source of

pollution, farmers could produce more than enough energy to power their

farms.

Are We Nearing the Beginning of the Hydrogen Economy?

The Hydrogen Economy is the term used to mark the shift from fossil fuels

such as coal, oil, and gas to hydrogen. The vision of a Hydrogen Economy is

one of an unlimited source of fuel that would be used to generate energy

without releasing carbon and other pollutants into the air.

As Darshan Goswami, M.S., P.E. said:

“Hydrogen has the potential to do for the energy revolution what the

computer and the Internet have done for the information revolution. Fuel cells

are considered the “microchip of the hydrogen age,†the key to abundant

energy from secure, renewable resources.

Ultimately, fuel cells supplying homes, businesses, and industries could

be linked to a national power grid allowing surplus power at one location to

be transferred to areas experiencing power shortages.â€

It’s clear that we have to stop this _unnecessary reliance on oil and

fossil fuels_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/09/the-real-price-of\

-oil.aspx) , and the Hydrogen Economy offers many advantages

in doing so, such as:

* Greater fuel efficiency

* Elimination of pollution caused by fossil fuels

* Elimination of greenhouse gases

* Elimination of economic dependence on Middle East oil reserves

 

Alternative Energy and Fuel Options to Keep an Eye Out For

There are many renewable energy and fuel source alternatives out there and

plenty of technical innovations are cropping up even beyond hydrogen. One

of the most promising that may make an impact sooner than you think is solar

power.

There is enough energy in the sunshine that falls on the earth in less than

one hour to satisfy the energy needs of the entire human race for ONE

YEAR. About the only downside to solar energy is how to store that power for

use at night or on cloudy days, and a _new technology from the Massachusetts

Institute of Technology (MIT)_

(http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/11/11/new-discovery-cou\

ld-be-key-to-unlimited-cheap-energy.aspx)

appears to have solved that problem elegantly.

The process, which is loosely based on plant photosynthesis, uses solar

energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. When needed, the gases

can then be re-combined in a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity

whether the sun is shining or not.

You may also be interested to know that cars that run on compressed air,

and do not require a cooling system, ignition system, carburetor, nor the

hundreds of moving parts included in a standard gasoline motor, are already in

the works.

According to an _article in Popular Mechanics_

(http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html?series=19) ,

Zero Pollution Motors --

the U.S. licensee for Moteur Developement Int. (MDI) -- expects to produce

the world’s first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or

early 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

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