Veolia Water Technologies by GineersNow Engineering Magazine GineersNow Engineering Magazine September 2016 | Page 51

FILTER HELPS ASTRONAUTS
DRINK THEIR OWN PEE
Photo by SmithsonianMag
It is one of the toughest jobs to ensure
that astronauts have enough drinking
water when they are travelling in space
for a long time. Water is a substance that
is rapidly used up in space. It is also very
difficult and expensive to procure them
in the orbit. It should be noted that the
cost involved in travelling to space is
$10,000 for each and every pound of
weight. A gallon of water has a weight
of 8.33 pounds. Thus, it would be veeery
expensive.
Astronauts are currently researching
ways for people to live on Mars. Thus,
they will have to find an effective way to
recycle and reuse water. Astronauts are
allowed to drink up to 3 gallons of water
every day. So, with the scarcity of water
in space, recycling could really be a great
help.
So what is their ingenious plan? Drink
your own urine!
Wait. What?!
Since 2009, astronauts have been
drinking their own urine that passes
through a process of distillation. This is
a way that has been developed by them
to battle the problem of water scarcity.
However, the process has not been
perfected yet. The purifier is heavy,
slow and has a tendency of breaking
down. The purifier spins at a high speed
which then isolates the water vapor.
Then the separated vapor is treated in
a chemically. The system is capable of
producing about 6000 liters of water in
a year. This is still not sufficient for a big
group of astronauts who are travelling to
space for a long period of time.
So, the astronauts of the International
Space Station are looking for new ways
to filter urine for drinking purposes. A
Danish Biotech Company, Aquaporin
A/s, is known to have manufactured a
filter that makes the use of aquaporin
protein to take out clean water out of
sweat, urine condensation, wastewater,
or any other source of liquid that is
available in space. Aquaporin molecules
are present in the membranes of the cell
and very efficient to let only water pass
through it.
Hopefully, this device will be able to help
our astronauts in their space missions.
So how do you feel about drinking your
own urine? Well, if you’re in Mars,
you don’t have much of a choice. But
who knows, you might not notice the
difference!
TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP TRACK
OF YOUR PEE AT HOME
Just pee once and we can provide you
with your exact medical reports.
Yes, it’s true! Lucy Jung, Do Hyung Kim,
Jee Young Kim and Green Kim brought
artificial intelligence to your washrooms
with their new product called The
GP Toilet. They together created an
intelligent washroom that can keep a
tab of your entire medical condition, be
it diabetes, blood pressure, BMI or any
other. This innovative idea will simplify
your life and if permitted, it can even
track your social media accounts and
post results there.
The new invention was designed
considering the fact that toilet is a
known place where everyone visits at
least once a day. It has made the toilet
talk to the humans by analyzing the
patient’s urine and giving a report on
it. A sort of needle sprouts out of the
throne to take your samples when you
do your thing. It then, analyzes and
displays the results on the screen.
So, next time when you plan to visit
a doctor for your menstrual cycles,
pregnancy or sugar levels, think about
trying this innovative device once. This
one-time investment can save you huge
money for years to come. Now, your
toilet will always be there for your help!
Photo by Walyou
SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
51