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Effects of carbonate on the electrolytic removal of ammonia and urea from urine with thermally prepared IrO2 electrodes

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Abstract

Recent studies have shown that electrolysis can be an efficient process for nitrogen removal from urine. These studies have been conducted with urea solutions or fresh urine, but urine collected in NoMix toilets and urinals has a substantially different composition, because bacteria hydrolyse urea quickly to ammonia and carbonate. In this study, we compared electrochemical removal of nitrogen from synthetic solutions of fresh and stored urine using IrO2 anodes. We could show that in fresh urine both ammonia and urea are efficiently eliminated, mainly through chlorine-mediated oxidation. However, in stored urine the presence of carbonate, arising from urea hydrolysis, leads to an inhibition of ammonia oxidation. We suggest two parallel mechanisms to explain this effect: the competition between chloride and carbonate oxidation at the anode and the competition between chlorate formation, enhanced by the buffering effect of carbonate, and ammonia oxidation for the consumption of active chlorine in the bulk. However, further experiments are needed to support the latter mechanism. In conclusion, this study highlights the negative consequences of the presence of carbonate in urine solutions, but also in other wastewaters, when subjected to an electrolytic treatment on IrO2 in alkaline media.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Sciences and Chemical Engineering, EPFL/SB/ISIC, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Véronique Amstutz, Agnieszka Kapalka & Christos Comninellis

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26504, Patras, Greece

    Alexandros Katsaounis

  3. Process Engineering, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Kai M. Udert

Authors
  1. Véronique Amstutz
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  2. Alexandros Katsaounis
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  3. Agnieszka Kapalka
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  4. Christos Comninellis
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  5. Kai M. Udert
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Correspondence to Véronique Amstutz.

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Amstutz, V., Katsaounis, A., Kapalka, A. et al. Effects of carbonate on the electrolytic removal of ammonia and urea from urine with thermally prepared IrO2 electrodes. J Appl Electrochem 42, 787–795 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-012-0444-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-012-0444-y

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