Wearable Energy Generator Uses Urine to Power Wireless Transmitter
Date : December 11, 2015
Source : Institute of Physics
Summary :A pair of socks embedded with miniaturized microbial fuel cells and
fueled with urine pumped by the wearer's footsteps has powered a wireless
transmitter to send a signal to a PC. This is the first self-sufficient system
powered by a wearable energy generator based on microbial fuel cell technology.
A pair of socks embedded with miniaturised
microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and fuelled with urine pumped by the wearer's
footsteps has powered a wireless transmitter to send a signal to a PC. This is
the first self-sufficient system powered by a wearable energy generator based
on microbial fuel cell technology. The scientific paper, 'Self-sufficient Wireless
Transmitter Powered by Foot-pumped Urine Operating Wearable MFC' is published
in Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.
The paper describes a lab-based experiment led by
Professor Ioannis Ieropoulos, of the Bristol BioEnergy Centre at the University
of the West of England (UWE Bristol). The Bristol BioEnergy Centre is based in
Bristol Robotics Laboratory, a collaborative partnership between the University
of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and the University of Bristol. Soft MFCs embedded within a pair of socks was
supplied with fresh urine, circulated by the human operator walking. Normally,
continuous-flow MFCs would rely on a mains powered pump to circulate the urine
over the microbial fuel cells, but this experiment relied solely on human
activity. The manual pump was based on a simple fish circulatory system and the
action of walking caused the urine to pass over the MFCs and generate energy.
Soft tubes, placed under the heels, ensured frequent fluid push-pull by
walking. The wearable MFC system successfully ran a wireless transmission
board, which was able to send a message every two minutes to the PC-controlled
receiver module.
Professor Ieropoulos says, "Having already
powered a mobile phone with MFCs using urine as fuel, we wanted to see if we
could replicate this success in wearable technology. We also wanted the system
to be entirely self-sufficient, running only on human power -- using urine as
fuel and the action of the foot as the pump."
"This work opens up possibilities of using waste for powering
portable and wearable electronics. For example, recent research shows it should
be possible to develop a system based on wearable MFC technology to transmit a
person's coordinates in an emergency situation. At the same time this would
indicate proof of life since the device will only work if the operator's urine
fuels the MFCs."
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) use bacteria to
generate electricity from waste fluids. They tap into the biochemical energy
used for microbial growth and convert it directly into electricity. This
technology can use any form of organic waste and turn it into useful energy
without relying on fossil fuels, making this a valuable green technology.
The Centre has recently launched a prototype urinal in partnership with
Oxfam that uses pee-power technology to light cubicles in refugee camps.
Story Source: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Institute of Physics. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
M Taghavi, A Stinchcombe, J Greenman, V Mattoli, L Beccai, B Mazzolai, C
Melhuish, I A Ieropoulos. Self sufficient wireless transmitter powered
by foot-pumped urine operating wearable MFC. Bioinspiration &
Biomimetics, 2015; 11 (1): 016001 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/11/1/016001
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