EXTRACTION OF UREA

FROM HUMAN URINE

INTRODUCTION

Urine is a liquid waste material produced in and

excreted by the body. Secreted by the renal tubules, it
accumulates in the urinary bladder and is excreted via
the urethra. While it is composed of 91 to 96 percent
water, it contains many other components, both solid
and liquid. Over ninety-nine percent of urinary solutes
are composed of only sixty-eight chemicals which have
a concentration of 10 mg/L or more.
 Forty-two compounds are actually involved. They are
classified as electrolytes such as sodium, potassium,
calcium, magnesium and chloride, nitrogenous
chemicals such as urea and creatinine, vitamins,
hormones, organic acids such as uric acid and other
organic compounds.
 Uric acid as one of the major components of urine, is the
major hazard when mixed with water. It is a heterocyclic
purine derivative that is the final oxidation product
of purine metabolism. It is produced by the
enzyme xanthine oxidase, which oxidizes oxypurines
such as xanthine into uric acid. Water containing this
acid is harmful to humans when consumed because it
causes gout, a painful condition resulting from needle-
like crystals of uric acid precipitating
in joints, capillaries, skin, and other tissues.
But not all components of urine are hazardous, one
example of urines major components which people can
use if being isolated from it is the urea. Urea , also known
as carbamide, is an organic compound with the chemical
formula CO(NH2)2. This amide has two NH2 groups joined
by a carbonyl (C=O) functional group. Urea serves an
important role in the metabolism of nitrogen-containing
compounds by animals and is the main nitrogen-
containing substance in the urine of mammals. This
component is feasible to use as a fertilizer.
 The researchers aimed to isolate urea having a
relatively small amounts of vitamins and proteins (almost
negligible) from animal urine and transformed it into a
crystalline material in order for it to be used as a
fertilizer.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Urine
Specific gravity = 1.002 to 1.037
Water content = 91-96 %
Overall composition:
94% water
6% solid
3% urea
Other solute compositions:
Creatinine = 0.670 g/d.L
Na = 1.17 g/L
K = 0.750 g/L
Cl = 1.87 g/L
Uric Acid (C5H4N4O3)
Average uric acid content of urine (male and female)
= 4.7 mg/d.L (0.047 g/L)
Uric acid composition in urea = 25.8242 %
Solubility:
0.006 g/L water at 20 C
Urea (CO(NH2)2)
Normal average urea content of urine = 13.5 mg/d.L (0.135g/L)
Solubility:
500 g/L glycerol
50 g/L ethanol
1079 g/L water at 20 C
Evaporation process
Feed = 100 kg
Xf1 = 0.05
Tf1 = 305.233 K (average temperature in Tuguegarao
City in a year)
P1 = 101.325 kPa
T1 = 373.15 K
U = 2000W/m2K
 METHODOLOGY
Evaporation
100 kg of urine sample was taken from 150 people in
order to obtain the average compositions of the primary
compounds (urea and uric acid) needed for the
processing of urine. The feed, which is the urine sample
containing 5 percent uric acid and urea was introduced to
the double-effect evaporator at the average air
temperature in Tuguegarao City (305.233 K).
 After the said process, it was able to obtain 90
percent of urea and uric acid from the feed (5.004 kg).
At Evaporator 1:
OMB: 100 = F2 + V1 , V1 = 90 kg/hr
Solute Balance: 0.05(100) = 0.5(F2) , F2 = 10 kg/hr
 Take note that there is no boiling point rise since the
feed is composed of almost 96 % water so it is assumed
that the boiling point of the solution is precisely at 373.15
K temperature and 101.325 kPa pressure.
From steam table:
At P1 = 101.325 kPa
H(liq) = 419.535 kJ/kg
H(vap) = 2677.77 kJ /kg
= 2677.77 419.535 = 2252.24 kJ /kg
Cp at Tf1 (305.233 K) = 4.184 kJ /kg
Cp at Tf2 (373.15 K) = 40219 kJ/kg
Cp ave = 4.202 kJ /kg
Hv = = 2252.24 Kj/kg
1 = ((V1 Hv F cp. ave Tf T1 )/
1 = 102.671 /
Steam economy = V/S = 0.877
Area = (ms ) / U(Ts-Tp) = 3.261 m2
At evaporator 2:
OMB: 10 = V2 + P2 , V2 = 4.444 kg/hr
Solute Balance: 0.5(10) = 0.9(P2) . P2 = 5.556 kg/hr
At pressure 2 = pressure 1 = 101.325 kPa and T2 =
373.15 K
= 2252.24 kj/kg
 Since the temperature at F2 is equal to temperature
at the final product, Cp(ave) = 4.219 kj/kg
2 = ((V2 Hv F cp. ave Tf2 T2 )/ = 4.444
Steam economy = 1