A filter made for the astronauts ’urine could soon provide drinking water to Earth

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LED lighting technology developed to help astronauts avoid sleep deprivation has been adapted for home use; in home workouts a weightlifting system is used to keep the astronauts in zero gravity shape.

Now a company that designed a water purification system for the ISS is developing derivative technologies with the potential to provide clean drinking water to places that need it most.

In the ISS, every drop of moisture must be filtered and reused, from moisture to urine. But the current system is very heavy, has to be replaced every 90 days and fails to filter certain pollutants, according to NASA.

The Danish company Aquaporin A / S has developed a new system that uses proteins called aquaporins. “It’s essentially the mechanism that allows water to cross the cell membrane of living cells,” says Peter Holme Jensen, CEO of Aquaporin A / S. In nature, these proteins allow the roots of plants absorb water from the soil and allow the two human kidneys to filter about 45 liters of fluid a day. They are also very selective, preventing the passage of contaminants.

Having tested it in space, NASA is considering replacing its current system with Aquaporin, but the technology is also finding closer uses at home.

More than 2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water, and in developed countries many people do not trust the safety of tap water. More than half of households in the United States are concerned about the quality of water supply and only 55% of Europeans drink water directly from the tap.

Aquaporin technology could help. The company works with wastewater companies, including BIOFOS, Denmark’s largest public wastewater company, and UTB Envirotec in Hungary, to remove contaminants and microplastics from wastewater, preventing them from flowing into the sea.

A study conducted at BIOFOS showed that aquaporins remove more than 95% of microplastics and micropolishing from wastewater, using much less energy than traditional systems.

“It has huge potential,” says Dines Thornberg, BIOFOS ’innovation manager, who led the study. “I believe the Aquaporin system could lead the creation of clean and affordable drinking water from wastewater in the future. I am really optimistic that we can meet the challenges of water scarcity in many parts of the world with technologies. like this “.

Joerg Hess, COO of Aquaporin A / S, checks the water that has leaked through the aquaporin membrane.

Clean water at home

Jensen has also seen an opportunity to enter the domestic water purification market, a sector that could be worth $ 24 billion by 2025, according to an estimate.

Last month, Aquaporin A / S launched a domestic under-the-sink filtration system that runs without electricity. The system costs € 650 and the company is currently targeting the European market. It plans to expand to the United States and then to India and China in the next two years.

As production increases, its long-term goal is to provide an affordable product for regions with water stress. “I really think we can make a difference,” Jensen says.

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