Re: Urine as fuel

On 18 Nov 2003 12:32:32 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (bruce again)
wrote:

>I once heard back in high school that urine added to cornstarch and
>allowed to dry, over and over again, several times, can eventually
>cause an explosion.

Unlikely.  You'll see it starting to rot long before there's a useful
oxidiser content. This rotting will break down the starches, and thus
render the fuel useless.

If you want to make urine explode, look up the history of medieval
black powder making. Typical methods were to scrape crystals of
nitrate salts from the outside of stables or middens of old
urine-soaked horse bedding.  You need to concentrate the useful
nitrates from the urine before you start mixing them with fuels.

Alternatively, go to a "guano island" and shovel out thousands of
years of accumulated seabird or bat shit.


A good question though.

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Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods