Social Good Engineering Magazine: GineersNow Social Innovation GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 001 | Page 76

Astronauts’ Pee Turned to Energy and Drinking Water Photo Source: Science News When we think about space exploration, we usually end up thinking something along the lines of Star Trek. The immense expanse of space filled with undiscovered planets and solar systems is certainly a breathtaking idea. Few consider to imagine the less glamorous side of it all, such as waste. However, for the guys at NASA, it is a crucial point when it comes to making space explora- tion livable. According to scien- tists, the human waste generated during any space journey is half of their total waste generated. This includes trash, used food cartons, etc… Therefore, they are trying to come with a solution that is To prevent water shortages from becoming a problem in space, NASA has developed a treatment process for transforming urine into water. more useful than simply ejecting the waste into space. Their aim is to develop a technique that can convert the pee of astronauts into drinkable water and even fuel. Be- fore you get all disgusted, remind yourself that this technique can be potentially lifesaving when you are wandering around in space. After all, there are no water tanks in space where you can refill your water supplies. For this purpose, the scientists used a specific wastewa- ter treatment process known as forward osmosis. When com- bined with a fuel cell, this process can be used for generating power. That is actually cool once you get over the fact that the major 76 component will be pee. As for the scientist, they used wastewater from the shower and urine and processed it with forward osmosis to separate urea and water from the contaminants. With the help of the new Urea Bioreactor Elec- trochemical system developed by them, the urea was converted into ammonia which is further transformed to energy. This tech does have po- tential applications in space. After all, it will enable astronauts to get an additional source of water if the supplies they have onboard prove to be insufficient. However, it can also be used back here on Earth for processing wastewater into something more useful.