Waste to Electricity

Toilet Tech: A Power Generator Turns Falling Wastewater Into Electricity | Popular Science

Here’s a novel way to get a little more out of time spent in the bathroom. An industrial design student at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, has created a clever power generator that turns falling wastewater into electricity. The HighDro Power is a waterwheel-like turbine that can be incorporated into the pipes of tall buildings to turn one man’s waste into another man’s wattage.

Student Tom Broadbent’s inspiration came when he emptied a bath in a hotel room and it drained quite quickly and with impressive force. He started tinkering around with ideas for harnessing the kinetic energy that accompanies each drained sink or flushed toilet, using rapid prototyping machines and vacuum forming to create the parts. The result: a four-blade turbine that drives a small generator.