Extracting Drinking Water from Urine

A group of Belgian scientists has developed a device that converts urine into drinking water. According to Reuters, this device, which operates on solar energy, separates urine into two components: fertilizer and drinking water. The academic team hopes that this device will be used in remote areas of developing countries that also face electricity shortages. Although this is not the first device created to convert urine into drinking water, the creators believe that this device, which does not require traditional electricity, has more applications in remote areas. Sebastian Deris, a member of the research team from Ghent University in Belgium, stated, 'We were able to extract fertilizer and drinking water from urine through a simple process using solar energy.' The device works by first collecting urine in a large reservoir. It is then heated by solar energy in a water heater. After that, it passes through a membrane that separates pure water from the other substances in urine. The other substances, which include potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus, are converted into fertilizer for soil enrichment. Recently, the team took this machine to a ten-day music festival and managed to extract one thousand liters of drinking water from the participants' urine. The next goal is to install a larger version of this device in sports complexes such as stadiums and also in impoverished and remote areas. In this context, the acute situation of drinking water in various regions of Iran is highlighted, where more than half of Iran's dam reservoirs are empty. An American expert notes that people in Isfahan will have to make tough decisions regarding water. Climate and human factors contribute to drought in Iran, where over one billion people lack access to toilets, and 35 million people in Iranian cities face 'water stress' during the summer.