Sewage power

FLUSHING the toilet could one day help to power the lights in your home.

Scientists have developed a device that generates electricity from human waste. They believe it could turn sewage into a new renewable energy source.

The Microbial Fuel Cell devised by American researchers at Pennsylvania State University uses bacteria to break down waste, liberating electrons in the process. Normally the electrons would power respiratory reactions in the bacterial cells and be combined with oxygen molecules, but the MFC wrestles the electrons away from the bacteria and uses them to power a circuit.