Astronauts have been able todrink their own ( treated and filtered ) urinefor years , but thanks to a young technique , scientist have managed to squeeze one more benefit out of an inevitable spin-off . Now , astronauts can use their urine to keep both their bodies and their spaceships running smooth .
Currently , about half of an extended distance mission ’s total permissive waste can be chalked up to bodily functions , and broadcast weewee replenish out into space from Earth is wildly expensive . Obviously , finding shipway to reuse human wastefulness is key . Now , alternatively of the massive , clunky distillers antecedently in use , NASA uses a treatment mental process called forward osmosis , as ascertain in the video below .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYYqvc-puC4
Still , turning urine into piss is no unexampled feat . What ’s particularly innovative about this method acting , though , is that it ’s also able to convert the carbamide extracted from the urine into ammonia water by using a bioreactor . This ammonium hydroxide could then beconverted into energyby combining it with fuel cells .
Astronauts are n’t the only ace with the potentiality to profit , though . According to NASA ’s teamat the Ames Research Center in Mountain View , California , “ the results showed that the UBE system could be used in any wastewater intervention systems contain urea and/or ammonia . ” Sure , the theme of living off our own thriftlessness might make masses a small squeamish , but hey — it worked for Kevin Costner . [ EurekAlertviaRed Orbit ]
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