Urine-powered generator: Four Nigerian teenage girls move to solve Nigerian fuel crisis with superlative invention
The current fuel crisis bedeviling Nigeria could become history if government at all levels and public spirited individuals adopt and improve upon the superlative invention by four Nigerian teenage girl.
The invention, a urine-powered generator, has the capacity to use a litre of urine to produce six hours of electricity.
The four teenage girls, Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and Bello Eniola displayed the invention at the yearly Maker Faire Africa, held in Lagos, Nigeria.
While the concept of using pee as fuel was not new, the four girls devised a workable method that many homes could use.
According to a leading provider of Integrated Energy Solutions, Ruseel Smith, a 14-year-old Adebola had the idea of using urine to produce electricity when she read an article about a family of five who lost their lives.
Unfortunately, the family members perished from carbon monoxide poisoning after inhaling fumes from their generator in their sleep.
She said she was worried by the incident thinking about how she could help to prevent similar occurrences from happening in the future, stressing that the way out was to look for another power source that does not release carbon monoxide.
Adebola said she related the idea with her three friends – Abiola, Oluwatoyin, 14-years-old and Eniola, a 15-year-old.
The four schoolmates, who christened d themselves “Fantastic Four”, began their journey to develop a solution which later on became successful and celebrated even on a global scale.
The Fantastic Four stated that they told their science teacher, Olaide Lawal, about their idea, who encouraged them that the indication was possible.
Inspired, the teenage girls started experimenting with potential energy-producing elements other than carbon. They claimed to have realized that hydrogen powers rocket engines. The girls explained that the idea behind their innovation was that water would be the final output if hydrogen served as the generator’s raw material.
The teenagers reportedly ran into trouble after experimenting with water.
The researchers said that they arrived at the conclusion that electrolyzing water would result in a 1.25 volt loss every cycle due to the minimal hydrogen production in water.
Adebola claimed to have advised the group to test a free material that can produce the energy required to power household appliances. It was
At this time, the team started to think about utilizing pee as a raw material source. According to Adebola, their first device was based around an electrolytic cell made out of an old vehicle battery.
In addition, the system contained pipelines, filters, and an empty gas storage tank.
“We then reconfigured our petrol-based generator and carried out our first experiment – and then we faced another huge challenge as the cell exploded,” the girls said.
“We kept on checking our process and setup until Mr. Lawal pointed out our error: The hydrogen-oxygen gas mixture was returning to the cell. We then inserted one-way valves into the pipes to ensure a one-directional flow of the gas mixture, and it worked,” they added.
The Fantastic Four said when they first exhibited their invention publicly, people did not have hope it would work. But they remained determined and made improvements to it. They gained national attention when they exhibited their invention once again at the Maker Faire Africa in 2012.
Since the exhibition, the Fantastic Four has earned both national and international awards for their urine-powered generators. The Lagos State government also expressed the desire to fund the invention to be developed on a large scale for it to be used in homes.
The teen girls expressed their gratitude to their school, Doregos Private Academy stating that they provided the funding, transportation, and moral support for them to pursue the dream.
