Astronauts' pee to get recycled into clean water

The researchers collected urine and shower wastewater and processed it using forward osmosis - a way to filter contaminants from urea - a major component of urine, and water.

Their new Urea Bioreactor Electrochemical system (UBE) efficiently converted the urea into ammonia in its bioreactor, and then turned the ammonia into energy with its fuel cell.

"The system was designed with space missions in mind, but the results showed that the UBE system could be used in any wastewater treatment systems containing urea and/or ammonia," Nicolau said in a report that appeared in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.