Schoolgirls Hit on Novel Energy Idea

Many Lagosians are dependent on generators for their electricity but these are expensive to run and sometimes cause deadly accidents. A group of Nigerian schoolgirls have come up with an environmentally sustainable way over running these generators, using urine.

Published

3 months ago

Categories

Science, Technology

Topics

Energy, Science

Places

Nigeria, Lagos

Transcript

These Nigerian schoolgirls in Lagos are testing a new means of running an electricity generator. This one is powered not by diesel but by urine - the brain wave of 14-year-old Duro-Aina. SOUNDBITE 1 - Duro-Aina Adebola (girl, in English) "I got the idea when I went on the Internet and I saw a family of five killed by carbon-monoxide poison. It struck (stroke) me that people are dying regularly from generator poison and then what could be done that wouldn't releases any harmful gases into the environment ?" Through a simple electrolysis process, hydrogen can be extracted from the urine, it is then purified before being pushed into the generator. SOUNDBITE 2 - Omotayo Fakinlede, Engineering teacher "We can view hydrogen as the hydro carbon minus the carbon. There are very good properties and one of the most important thing is the environmental friendliness." This cheap and sustainable process could be crucial - With power cuts common many of Lagos's 15 million residents rely on generators to provide power. But fuel is expensive and accidents are all to frequent. Duro-Aina's urine-powered generator has yet to get beyond the prototype stage. But just one litre of urine can provide 6 hours of electricity, running everything from the light to the TV and the airconditioning. SOUNDBITE 3 - Titilayo Idowo "Ok, initially, I was like, what, what are they bringing, will this thing actually work? And to my surprise, this thing is actually working. I'm surprised to see a generator that is powered by urine!" The next step is to (try and) attract investors and take the model mainstream. SOUNDBITE 4 - Patrick Uloba, Chemistry teacher "We are hoping that with the volume of information that has gone out on this project, we are trusting that somebody will come and pick up this project , so that it can be mass produced and it can be there in the market." It is early days but Duro-Aina hopes that her invention might pave the way for a greener Nigeria in the future. SHOTLIST: LAGOS JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2013 (source AFPTV) - VAR generator - VAR Duro-Aina and school mates SOUNDBITE 1 - Generator SOUNDBITE 2 -VAR Lagos by night - VAR Titilayo's house (lives near school) -Pla Generator & Titilayo -Titilayo -Titilayo switching on lights - TV, ventilator SOUNDBITE 3 -Pla Schoolroom and teacher SOUNDBITE 4 - Duro-Aina and school mates