Scientists Develop New Machine That Turns Urine Into Drinkable Water Using Solar Energy [VIDEO]

The researchers claim that the new system is better than other currently existing waste water treatment techniques as it is more energy-efficient and can be easily applied in areas off the electricity grid.

University of Ghent researcher Sebastiaan Derese said the research team is able to recover fertilizer and drinking water from urine using just a simple process and solar energy, reported Reuters. During the process, urine is first collected in a big tank and then it is heated in a solar-powered boiler before passing through the membrane which separates out the water and nutrients such as potassium, nitrogen and phosphorous.

"The possibility of potable water production was investigated in human urine by assessing the permeate water quality, maximum recovery and mid-term process stability. It was shown that at least 75 percent of the available water could be recovered from non-hydrolyzed human urine without process failure. As such, membrane distillation is a viable alternative for existing urine treatment," the researchers noted in a paper detailing their study, reported Digital Trends.

With the slogan #peeforscience, the researchers deployed their purifying machine at a 10-day music and theatre festival in Ghent, Belgium in order to test the viability of the new technology. They recovered nearly 1,000 liters of water from the urine of people attending the festival. The treated water from the festival will now be used to make beer. "We call it from sewer to brewer," said Dr Derese.

In fact, the researchers are planning to install larger versions of the urine-purifying machine in public places such as sports venues and airports to collect more urine for processing. They also aim to take the machine to rural communities in the developing countries where there is shortage of reliable drinking water and fertilizers. What do you think about the new invention? Let us know in the comments below.