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Four Nigerian Teenage Girls Develop a Urine-Powered Generator
The beauty of an innovation lies not only in its efficiency, but in its ability to create cheaper solutions to complex problems.
Four teenage girls, Duro-Aina Adebola (14), Akindele Abiola (14), Faleke Oluwatoyin (14) and Bello Eniola (15) have stunned the country with their invention of a urine powered generator at this year’s Maker Faire Africa, an event which shows off innovations, inventions, and initiatives that solve immediate challenges and problems, and then works to support and propagate them. The teenagers’ invention was one of the most remarkable exhibitions at the fair which took place from Monday 5th November to Tuesday 6th November in Lagos.
Remember how we sometimes make jokes when we experience fuel scarcity saying we wished we could use urine to power our generators? Well it might not be a joke anymore if these girls’ invention is given the support it needs.
Here’s how it works:
- Urine is put into an electrolytic cell, which cracks the urea into nitrogen, water, and hydrogen.
- The hydrogen goes into a water filter for purification, which then gets pushed into the gas cylinder.
- The gas cylinder pushes hydrogen into a cylinder of liquid borax, which is used to remove the moisture from the hydrogen gas.
- This purified hydrogen gas is pushed into the generator.
- 1 Liter of urine gives you 6 hours of electricity
Isn’t it wonderful to see such young minds thinking along these lines? Good stuff!
Photo/News Credit: Maker Faire Africa