5 ms·
Where does the last 2% of the water go?
by joshuanapoli 3y ago
Where does the last 2% of the water go?
- xupybd 3y agoIt sounds like it gets stuck in solution.
- dudus 3y agoCan you be more specific?
- shagie 3y agoUnless you get the urine and sweat both down to solids, there is going to be some water in it. Granted, very, very concentrated urine and sweat (salts, urea, etc...) but it will still be in solution. Getting that last 2% of water out of the solution to leave a completely anhydrous substance gets energy expensive. Also, some things are better left in solution (ammonia for example) making them easier to move around and deal with.
- Shawnj2 3y agoIs there a reason you can’t distill/evaporate the remaining water out of the solids?
- shagie 3y agoHow much energy are you going to expend to do that - and do things like separate the ammonia from the water? It's not "it can't be done." It's a "it gets prohibitively expensive on a limited energy budget." Note that you're going to be left with things like anhydrous ammonia when you're done. That is more difficult to work with than concentrated ammonia in solution. In a sealed environment, this becomes even more of a concern.
- panick21_ 3y agoThe ISS vents methane.