DIRECT URINE

 BY   FUEL CELL :

 Santhosh .S AN
 Prajwal .S
 Tarun Gupta & 
IC ENGINE
 Jonathan .P ALTERNATIVE
INTRODUCTION

Environmentalists envision a "green" future.

They picture a world in which cars rely on
renewable resources. We believe the future
might be  as much yellow as green , though,
thanks to another natural resource 'urine'. Urine
is the most abundant waste fluid available on
earth. Domestic mammals may release twice as
much.
 With the prices of fossil
fuel skyrocketing and its
shortage , the doom of
vehicles running on then
is evident . Finding an
efficient energy source
shouldn't be arduous as
human urine itself
incisively marks out to be
an efficient and clean
fuel.
 We can produce hydrogen in large quantities with
REASON hydrocarbons, but it is not easy to store and distribute .The
other possibility is to separate hydrogen and oxygen from
FOR water to introduce hydrogen directly in a fuel cell, but the
process of separation of hydrogen from water consumes as
CHOSING much energy generated from hydrogen.
URINE IN
FUEL CELL
The idea is to use urine instead of water. By weight, urine
contains about 2% urea. Each molecule of Urea
contains four hydrogen atoms, which are less strongly
bonded to the Nitrogen as it is to Oxygen in water.
Therefore, separating hydrogen from urea requires less
energy and allows a more efficient production of hydrogen,
Which is later used in an hydrogen fuel cell to produce
electricity.
Calculations have shown
that with improved
electrodes it could produce
hydrogen from urine for less
than a dollar per kilogram .
This technology could then
be useful in places where
large amounts of urine is
collected; in a building
where 200 or 300 people
working , we can produce
about 2 kilowatts of
Electrical Energy.
 PROPERTIES OF HYDROGEN

 Density : 0.08342 kg/m3

 Diffusivity: 1.697 m2/ hour
 Flame temperature: 2318 Celsius
(4202.4 Fahrenheit)
 Specific gravity: 0.6960 (air = 1)
 Specific  volume: 11.99 m3/kg
 Urine's major constituent is urea, which
GENERATION incorporates four hydrogen atoms per
OF molecule. Electrolysis process is used to
HYDROGEN break the molecule apart, developing an
inexpensive new nickel-based electrode to
FROM URINE selectively and efficiently oxidize the urea. 
  During the electrochemical process the urea gets adsorbed on to the nickel based
electrode surface, which passes the electrons needed to break up the molecule.
Pure hydrogen is evolved at the cathode, while nitrogen plus a trace of oxygen and
hydrogen are collected at the anode. While carbon dioxide is generated during the
reaction, none is found in the collected gasses as it reacts with the potassium
hydroxide in the solution to form potassium carbonate. Nitrogen is generated from
the anode demonstrating nitrate remediation of wastewater while water is reduced
at the cathode producing valuable hydrogen for the impending hydrogen
economy. 

WORKING OF
UREA FUEL CELL Reaction at Anode: 
CO(NH2)2 + 6OH- ----> N2 + 5H2O + CO2 + 6e- 

Reaction at Cathode: 
6H2O + 6e- -----> 3H2 + 6OH- 

Complete Reaction: 
CO(NH2)2 + H2O -----> N2 + 3H2 + CO2
 PURIFICATION

 The hydrogen gas mixture from the electrolytic cell then goes into the water filter.
The water filter is to remove any impurities that might have come in with the gas and
then it goes into an empty gas cylinder which serves as the gas storage. The gas
cylinder pushes hydrogen into a cylinder of liquid borax, which is used to remove
the moisture from the hydrogen gas. Borax serves as a drying agent and this is
because we do not want moisture going into the generator. Borax, also known as
sodium borate, sodium tetra borate, or disodium tetra borate, is an important boron
compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. Powdered borax is white, consisting of
soft colourless crystals that dissolve easily in water.  
 STORAGE OF HYDROGEN

 Since hydrogen is one of the lightest element and has very small
molecules, it can escape from tank and pipe more easily than
conventional fuels. However, if it is to be used as a fuel for transport or
power generation then there must be a way of storing it cost-effectively.
Storing hydrogen can be done by using carbon fiber reinforced tank.
 What is a fuel cell?

 A Fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the

chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an
oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a
pair of redox reactions. 
 Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a
continuous source of fuel and oxygen (usually from air)
to sustain the chemical reaction . 
 WORKING OF FUEL CELL

 There are several kinds of fuel cells , and each operates a

bit differently. But In general terms, hydrogen atoms
enter a fuel at the anode where a chemical reaction strips
them of their electrons. The hydrogen atoms are now
‘ionized’, and carry a positive electrical charge. The
negatively charge electrons provide the current through
wires to do work. If alternating current (AC) is needed,
the DC output of the fuel cell must be routed through a
conversion device called an inverter  .
 Oxygen enters the fuel cell at the cathode and in some
cell types (like the one illustrated above), it there
combines with electrons returning from the electrical
circuit and hydrogen ions that have traveled through the
electrolyte from the anode. In other cell types the oxygen
picks up electrons and then travels through the
electrolyte to the anode , where it combines
with hydrogen ion.
 POWER GENERATION IN HYDROGEN FUEL CELL

The Hydrogen generated from urea is then passed at optimum pressure into the hydrogen fuel cell where the hydrogen is
hydrogen splits into a proton and the electron being unable to pass through the Proton exchange membrane choses an
alternate path through the external circuit which then combines with oxygen and hydrogen at cathode producing water

Reaction at Anode:
H2 +2OH- -2H2O +2e-

Reaction at Cathode: 
0.5O2 + H2O +2e- -- 2OH- 

Complete Reaction: 
H2 +0.5O2 --H2O
 Use of fuel cells in vehicles

 Fuel cells have been used in various kinds

of vehicles including forklifts ,especially
in indoor applications where their clean
emissions are important to air quality, and
in space applications .
 The first commercially produced hydrogen
fuel cell automobile ,the Hyundai Tucson
(FCEV), was introduced in 2013
,Toyota Mirai followed  in 2015 and then
Honda entered the market . Fuel cells are
also being developed and tested in trucks ,
buses , boats, motorcycles and bicycles,
among other kinds of vehicles.
CALCULATIONS AND RESULTS:
 World population= 7.063 billion 
 India population= 1,224,260,000                                  
 Voltage required for electrolysis of Urine (Urea) per molecule= 0.37 V 
 Voltage required for electrolysis of water per molecule = 1.23 V   
 Approx. daily single person urine production =1-2 lit. Let it be taken as 1.5 lit 
 So total urine production in India = 1224260000*1.5 = 1836390000 lit 
 Amount of hydrogen produced per liter of urine= 2 grams
 Hence, total potential of hydrogen from urine = 1836390000* 0.002 = 3772780 kg per day
 Efficiency of fuel cell is about 60 %.  Hence, it is about 2-3 times more efficient than petrol and diesel
internal combustion engine. 
 Calorific Value of hydrogen = 142 KJ/ kg. Hence, it has 3 times more calorific value than petrol (48
KJ/kg). 
 Hence, this results into multiplication factor of 2*3= 6.  
 Thus, petrol equivalent of hydrogen = 3772780*6 kg=22036680 kg 
 STORAGE BATTERY

 The working principle of battery is based on conversion of chemical energy into

electrical energy with the help of electrochemical discharge reactions. Batteries are
rated in terms of their nominal voltage and ampere-hour capacity. The storage option
which is being utilized over here is DCLA (Deep cycle lead acid battery) which is a
secondary type of battery that can be recharged using a dc source. As compared to
normal Lead acid battery, these batteries have thicker active plates, with higher-
density active paste material and thicker separators. Since they have thicker battery
plates, it imparts them the ability to be discharged heavily and also make them
resistant to corrosion through extended charge and discharge cycles. DCLA batteries
have earned a good name in the field of renewable energy storage options as their
price per kilowatt-hour of storage is low, in context with alternative battery types such
as lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride.  
 DURING A DRAINED BATTERY
CONDITION

An additional solar panel is provided at the top of the

vehicle which basically absorbs the solar radiations and
converts solar energy into electrical energy, this electrical
energy is used for the electrolysis process. The solar panel
can also be used to charge the battery during the reserve
condition of the vehicle.
 CONCLUSIONS
 With the IC engines reaching the saturation point of their
efficiency and rampant vehicular pollution, urine evolves as
a green alternative as its much more economical and clean
burning than fossil fuels.

 As shown in calculations the usage of urea leads to 2-3

times the efficiency over traditional engines. As this process
curbs the natural conversion of urea to ammonia , it helps
in de-ammonification of urea-water, therefore preventing
diseases arising from it.

 The efficiency of fuel cell although as of now being around

55-60% holds on a wide scope for further improvement by
use of Nano-sized activators and catalysts.
  Direct urea/urine fuel cells based on alkaline membrane electrolyte
– Rong Lan and Shanwen Tao.
 A Novel approach for extraction of hydrogen gas from human urine
through electrolysis assisted by solar powered batteries –Raja Surya
Nakala , U.L Narayana , B. Kiteswara Rao-2016 
 The Urine Engine – Yogendra G nandgaoli , Rasika R Kaleado –
2014
 Urine pollution control and power generation by using Fuel cell –
Pramod V Jalamko , Prof. Deepak Bankar – 2014
 Urea based fuel cells and electrocatalysts for urea oxidation - Wei
REFERENCE Xu , zucheng Wu, Shanwen Tao - 2016
S  A direct urea fuel cell power from fertilizer and waste – Rong lan ,
Shanwen Tao , John T.S Irvine – 2010
 Read transport system Run by Hydrogen as a fuel
generated through urine - Nishant Aggarwal , keshav Goyal , Saran
Narang – 2013
 Urine powered engine – Nidhers C.S , Uibin Thomas , Asish M
Menon - 2018
 A Direct urine fuel cell operated at intermediate temperature –
Masahiro Nagao , Kazuyo Kobayashi , and Takashi Hibino.