Don’t Mind That Pee : Belgian Scientists Design Solar Powered Machine That Turns Urine To Potable Water
Scientists from Belgium have taken recycling to a total new level !
They have built a solar-powered machine that can turn urine into drinkable water. They deployed it at a 10-day music and theater festival under the slogan #peeforscience, in central Ghent, Belgium. The experiment was a success as the scientists were able to recover 1,000 litres of unconsumed water.
While there are other options for treating waste water, the system applied at the University of Ghent uses a special membrane which is said to be energy-efficient and to be applicable in areas off the electricity grid.
“We’re able to recover fertilizer and drinking water from urine using just a simple process and solar energy,” researcher Sebastiaan Derese said in an interview.
To purify the urine, the researchers first collect it in a tank and heat it using a solar-powered boiler. As the water evaporates it passes through the membrane, which separates it from nutrients found in urine and useful as a fertiliser, such as nitrogen and phosphorous.
Quite fittingly, the water from the festival will now be used to make one of
Belgium’s most coveted specialities – beer.Dr Derese said: “We call it from sewer to brewer.”
While the device could be used in sports venues or even airports to transform collected urine into water, the researchers hope that it could have longer term uses. Dr Derese added that the team hopes to take the machine to rural communities in the developing world where fertilisers and reliable drinking water are short in supply.
“The team wants to install the larger versions of the machines in the sports venues or airports which is the primary goal. This will also take this to the rural community in developing the world where the fertilizers and the reliable drinking water are having the shortage in supply,” he said.
