Mimicking and Inhibiting Urea Hydrolysis in Nonwater Urinals
| Autor: | Daniella Saetta, Treavor H. Boyer |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Struvite
Magnesium Compounds 02 engineering and technology Urine 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Phosphates chemistry.chemical_compound Acetic acid Hydrolysis Urea Environmental Chemistry Organic chemistry Effluent 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Urine diversion Chromatography General Chemistry Ammonia volatilization from urea 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Phosphate chemistry Bathroom Equipment 0210 nano-technology |
| Zdroj: | Environmental Science & Technology. 51:13850-13858 |
| ISSN: | 1520-5851 0013-936X |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.est.7b03571 |
| Popis: | Nonwater urinals are critical in the implementation of building-scale water conservation and urine diversion systems. However, because of the composition of urine and the prevalence of the urease enzyme that hydrolyzes urea, minerals readily precipitate in nonwater urinals and pipes. This leads to clogging, malodor, and possible replacement of nonwater urinals with flush urinals. Accordingly, the goal of this research was to provide an improved understanding of the urea hydrolysis process in nonwater urinals to benefit water conservation and phosphate recovery efforts. Acetic acid addition was used in nonwater urinals to inhibit the urea hydrolysis reaction by lowering the pH, thereby making the precipitation of calcium- and magnesium-containing minerals less favorable. Of the acids tested, 2.5 mL of 2500 mequiv/L acetic acid added after every urination event was able to inhibit urea hydrolysis in synthetic urine and real urine as indicated by the pH and conductivity of the effluent urine. Acid addition also allowed for 43% more phosphate recovery via struvite precipitation in the acetic acid addition synthetic urine than the synthetic urine with no acid addition. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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