Efficient Hydrogen Generation and Total Nitrogen Removal for Urine Treatment in a Neutral Solution Based on a Self-Driving Nano Photoelectrocatalytic System

Urine is the main source of nitrogen pollution, while urea is a hydrogen-enriched carrier that has been ignored. Decomposition of urea to H2 and N2 is of great significance. Unfortunately, direct urea oxidation suffers from sluggish kinetics, and needs strong alkaline condition. Herein, we developed a self-driving nano photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) system to efficiently produce hydrogen and remove total nitrogen (TN) for urine treatment under neutral pH conditions. TiO2/WO3 nanosheets were used as photoanode to generate chlorine radicals (Cl•) to convert urea-nitrogen to N2, which can promote hydrogen generation, due to the kinetic advantage of Cl–/Cl• cyclic catalysis. Copper nanowire electrodes (Cu NWs/CF) were employed as the cathode to produce hydrogen and simultaneously eliminate the over-oxidized nitrate-nitrogen. The self-driving was achieved based on a self-bias photoanode, consisting of confronted TiO2/WO3 nanosheets and a rear Si photovoltaic cell (Si PVC). The experiment results showed that hydrogen generation with Cl• is 2.03 times higher than in urine treatment without Cl•, generating hydrogen at 66.71 μmol h−1. At the same time, this system achieved a decomposition rate of 98.33% for urea in 2 h, with a reaction rate constant of 0.0359 min−1. The removal rate of total nitrogen and total organic carbon (TOC) reached 75.3% and 48.4% in 2 h, respectively. This study proposes an efficient and potential urine treatment and energy recovery method in neutral solution.

Membrane technologies in toilet urine treatment for toilet urine resource utilization: a review

In this review, the membrane technologies used for the resource utilization of urine collected from toilets are divided into four categories based on their driving force.

Urine treatment by solar disinfection for agriculture reuse purpose in a poor rural context: case of Burkina Faso

The study aimed to reduce the storage time of urine treatment and assess the quality of treated urine following the Solar DISinfection (SODIS) method. Microbiological analyses were performed on urine samples taken before each sunlight exposure, between 10am and 4pm at a frequency of 1 h, during which temperature was measured in PET bottles (1.5 L). The initial concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella in unstored urine were 106 and 103 CFU/100 mL respectively. The combined effect of temperature and UV radiation increased inactivation efficiency of E. coli at 5 log units. On the other hand, 98% of Salmonella were inactivated in less than 3 h of continuous exposure between 12am and 3pm with temperature varying between 50 and 65 °C in PET bottles. The k values showed that the inactivation rate of Salmonella tested was accelerated when the temperature was above 50 °C. Then, the results indicated that the first-order exponential decay model was the best method to predict the inactivation of Salmonella in urine by SODIS. General results showed that after 3 days of exposure to sunlight, urine collected via eco-toilet becomes bacteriologically sanitized and therefore can be used in agriculture.