A novel approach for enhancing nitrogen and hydrogen recovery from urine in microbial electrochemical gas-permeable membrane system.

Source-separated urine is a readily accessible nutrients dense waste stream that can be used to recover nitrogen and hydrogen. In the research, the microbial electrochemical gas-permeable membrane system (MEGS) is creatively introduced for urine treatment in removing organics, recovering the total ammonia nitrogen and high-value product of hydrogen (H) as well as ammonium sulfate ((NH)SO). MEGS can simultaneously realize the functions of H recovery, in-situ efficient alkali production at the cathode, and the efficient absorption capacity of the gas-permeable membrane (GPM).

Simultaneous recovery of nutrients and power generation from source-separated urine based on bioelectrical coupling with the hydrophobic gas permeable tube system.

Source-separated urine has been regarded as a precious treasure on account of its rich nitrogen content and is suitable for fertilizer production. In this study, a novel bioelectrical coupling with hydrophobic gas permeable tube system (BGTS) was developed to treat urine, for removing organic matter, and recover nitrogen as value-added products in the form of nitrogen fertilizer. In the presence of the electric field, the hydrolysis process of urea in the anode chamber was accelerated, and the NH driven by electric field force and concentration difference reached the cathode through the cation exchange membrane.