ESA Technology Transfer Success Story - No such thing as a waste product: using space technology to recycle urine [Aug/2022]
URIDIS innovative electrochemical water treatment technology,
developed under ESA’s MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System
Alternative) project is being used by Belgian company Hydrohm to treat urine on
Earth, saving water and recovering valuable nutrients.
MELiSSA is a European project led by ESA, bringing 50
research institutes and organisations together to develop circular life support
systems for the ISS and beyond. One crucial waste product to recycle is urine.
Urine is an important source of water and nutrients, yet is challenging to
recycle as it rapidly degrades, and so requires fast stabilisation.Developed under ESA’s MELiSSA, URIDIS is an innovative technology using electrochemical urine alkalinisation to stabilise the urine using electricity, so that valuable nutrients can be extracted. Belgian company Hydrohm uses the patented URIDIS technology,
combined with a self-cleaning toilet system new for the terrestrial application.
Hydrohm successfully treated the urine of over 3,500 visitors and received
positive feedback on the Laufen source-separating toilet and disinfecting flush
water.
Hydrohm’s terrestrial technology builds on the space
application and provides water savings of up to 60% relative to the average
toilet.
Though data for specific energy savings from the URIDIS
system are not yet available, a recent study found that urine diversion
technologies (such as source separating toilets) had better environmental
performance than a normal toilet system, producing 29-47% less greenhouse gas
emissions and consuming 26-41% less energy.
With ESA’s help, Hydrohm are confident that they have created
a product that is not only sustainable, but also offers strong commercial
opportunities through the addition of the disinfecting flush water systems,
which reduce maintenance and cleaning costs, as well as the potential for
additional nutrient recovery for fertilisers. Hydrohm’s business model involves
selling the system to commercial users, then providing continued maintenance
after installation.
The full case study report can be accessed in the restricted
area here
(please log in before).
The infographics can be accessed in the restricted area here
(please log in before).
This initiative is led by ESA's Technology Transfer and Patent Management Unit (TTPO) in ESA's Directorate for Commercialisation, Industry & Procurement. The Unit is guiding start-ups, entrepreneurs and European businesses in developing spin-offs for ESA's space technologies. More recent successful transfers can be accessed at: Technology Transfer - Funded Projects. For more information, please contact patent@esa.int.
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