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Researchers in the US have invented a device that could soon be generating electricity from waste water discharged from the home.
Domestic waste water, which is full of organic matter from cooking, cleaning or sewage, can be treated with bacteria that eat the organic matter in the waste and generate electricity in the process.
And as an additional bonus, the dirty water is made cleaner in the process, making sewage treatment easier.
The researchers from Pennsylvania State University are hoping that their system will help make sanitation more affordable in developing countries.
Although the research team led by Bruce Logan has only built extremely small devices so far, other workers have already had success with similar ‘microbial fuel-cell’ technology and Logan believes a reasonably-sized device would generate enough electricity to power small devices like light bulbs. At the moment this would not be enough to run a whole house.
The device works by encouraging bugs to eat the waste organic matter. A large graphite surface strips the electrons from the waste as the bugs oxidise it. The continual removal of the electrons stimulates the bugs to eat more waste.
The team says that if the technology could be scaled up sufficiently the system could be used in every home, saving billions in electricity costs and pre-treating waste water at the same time.
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