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BY Tali Aaron : December 31

Toilets that Separate Pee for Urea-Hydrogen Fuel May Become the Next Must Have for the Eco-Conscious

natures head toilet separate pee from poop


Ohio University researcher Gerardine Botte has developed a catalyst that could extract hydrogen fuel from urine much more cheaply than from water.  Botte developed a cheap new nickel-based electrode that was able to selectively and efficiently oxidize urea to break apart the molecule to get hydrogen out. Not only was the electrode cheaper, but by using urea instead of water, she got twice the hydrogen at a third of the effort.  So how could this be realistically done in our everyday life?  By using toilets that separate liquids and solids.  Apparently, “urine-separating dry toilets” are being adopted around the world — from South Africa, Peru, Cuba, and India, but they are not as readily used in the United States.  There is one company in the U.S. called Natures Head that has developed a toilet that separates liquids and solids, but they specifically target US boaters and RV-ers.  Now we just have to beef these up and get them into our homes so that we can harvest our pee, which now seems to be a valuable commodity.

[via Cleantechnica]

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Posted in: Energy Water Efficiency, Green Building Products, Kitchen Bathroom, Toilets, Water Efficiency
Tags: vesinik (3)   caroma toilets (4)   Caroma (5)   Toilets (4)   
Last Modified: December 31, 2009 at 12:09 pm
First Published: December 31, 2009 at 12:07 pm

5 Responses to Toilets that Separate Pee for Urea-Hydrogen Fuel May Become the Next Must Have for the Eco-Conscious

  2. buildaroo on January 9, 2012 at 9:28 pm


    Toilets that Separate Pee for Urea-Hydrogen Fuel May Become the Next... http://t.co/iKJ2qnMG #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

    Reply
  3. buildaroo on October 2, 2011 at 8:43 am


    Toilets that Separate Pee for Urea-Hydrogen Fuel May Become the Next... http://t.co/iKJ2qnMG #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

    Reply
  4. buildaroo on August 14, 2011 at 5:14 am


    Toilets that Separate Pee for Urea-Hydrogen Fuel May Become the Next... http://t.co/oVFrqui #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

    Reply
  5. buildaroo on August 14, 2011 at 5:14 am


    Toilets that Separate Pee for Urea-Hydrogen Fuel May Become the Next... http://t.co/oVFrqui #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

    Reply
  6. buildaroo on December 11, 2010 at 3:52 am


    Toilets that Separate Pee for Urea-Hydrogen Fuel May Become the Next... http://bit.ly/7GiBJL #eco #cleantech #greenbuilding #renewableenergy

    Reply

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