Electronic faucet powered by low cost ceramic microbial fuel cells treating urine
Electronic faucet powered by low cost ceramic microbial fuel cells treating urine
Hygienic measures are extremely important to avoid the transmission of contagious viruses and diseases. The use of an electronic faucet increases the hygiene, encourages hand washing, avoids touching the faucet for opening and closing, and it saves water, since the faucet is automatically closed. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has the capability to convert environmental waste into energy. The implementation of low cost ceramic MFCs into electronic interfaces integrated in toilets, would offer a compact powering system as well as an environmentally friendly small-scale treatment plant. In this work, the use of low cost ceramic MFCs to power an L20-E electronic faucet is presented for the first time. A single MFC was capable of powering an electronic faucet with an open/close cycle of 8.5 min, with 200 ml of urine. With a footprint of 360 cm3, the MFC could easily be integrated in a toilet. The possibility to power e-toilet components with MFCs offers a sustainable energy generation system. Other electronic components including an automatic flush, could potentially be powered by MFCs and contribute to the maintenance efficiency and hygiene of the public toilets, leading to a new generation of self-sustained energy recovering e-toilets.
Ceramic membrane, Electricity production from urine, Microbial fuel cell (MFC) stack, Self-powered electronic faucet
Merino Jimenez, Irene
429a40e2-04dd-42b8-8439-ac7c545ec05f
Brinson, Patrick
ca7cd87e-392a-465d-8839-9e5b4aa85a2b
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
15 September 2021
Merino Jimenez, Irene
429a40e2-04dd-42b8-8439-ac7c545ec05f
Brinson, Patrick
ca7cd87e-392a-465d-8839-9e5b4aa85a2b
Greenman, John
eb3d9b82-7cac-4442-9301-f34884ae4a16
Ieropoulos, Ioannis
6c580270-3e08-430a-9f49-7fbe869daf13
Merino Jimenez, Irene, Brinson, Patrick, Greenman, John and Ieropoulos, Ioannis
(2021)
Electronic faucet powered by low cost ceramic microbial fuel cells treating urine.
Journal of Power Sources, 506, [230004].
(doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2021.230004).
Abstract
Hygienic measures are extremely important to avoid the transmission of contagious viruses and diseases. The use of an electronic faucet increases the hygiene, encourages hand washing, avoids touching the faucet for opening and closing, and it saves water, since the faucet is automatically closed. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has the capability to convert environmental waste into energy. The implementation of low cost ceramic MFCs into electronic interfaces integrated in toilets, would offer a compact powering system as well as an environmentally friendly small-scale treatment plant. In this work, the use of low cost ceramic MFCs to power an L20-E electronic faucet is presented for the first time. A single MFC was capable of powering an electronic faucet with an open/close cycle of 8.5 min, with 200 ml of urine. With a footprint of 360 cm3, the MFC could easily be integrated in a toilet. The possibility to power e-toilet components with MFCs offers a sustainable energy generation system. Other electronic components including an automatic flush, could potentially be powered by MFCs and contribute to the maintenance efficiency and hygiene of the public toilets, leading to a new generation of self-sustained energy recovering e-toilets.
Text
1-s2.0-S0378775321005322-main (1)
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 4 May 2021
Published date: 15 September 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , Seattle, WA under the grant no. OPP1094890 . The authors would like to thank ROCA Sanitario S.A. for the ceramic MFC clay and e-faucet provided for this work.
Keywords:
Ceramic membrane, Electricity production from urine, Microbial fuel cell (MFC) stack, Self-powered electronic faucet
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 454755
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454755
ISSN: 0378-7753
PURE UUID: 90651ec9-afab-48d6-949e-344cb22fe78b
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Date deposited: 22 Feb 2022 17:41
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:04
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Contributors
Author:
Irene Merino Jimenez
Author:
Patrick Brinson
Author:
John Greenman
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