WUWT by Charles Rotter FECYT – Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology
The modules that the major space agencies plan to erect on the Moon could incorporate an element contributed by the human colonizers themselves: the urea in their pee. European researchers have found that it could be used as a plasticizer in the concrete of the structures.
Scientists from Norway, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy, in cooperation with ESA, have conducted several experiments to verify the potential of urine urea as a plasticizer, an additive that can be incorporated into concrete to soften the initial mixture and make it more pliable before it hardens. Details are published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.
“We have not yet investigated how the urea would be extracted from the urine, as we are assessing whether this would really be necessary, because perhaps its other components could also be used to form the geopolymer concrete,†says one of the researchers from the Norwegian university, Anna-Lena Kjøniksen, who adds: “The actual water in the urine could be used for the mixture, together with that which can be obtained on the Moon, or a combination of both.â€
More:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/03/28/astronaut-urine-to-build-moon-bases/
