# Distilling urine **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2000, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194 "2000-01-05T00:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/1 "2000-01-05T00:34:00Z")
Why can’t urine be distilled for it’s water content? I gather from things I’ve read that it doesn’t work, but why not? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/2 "2000-01-05T00:35:00Z")
I’m no wiz expert (more a poop man, I guess), but I see no reason why the water couldn’t be extracted. Where did you heard it couldn’t be? ---
**Author:** ![ignatiusjreilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@ignatiusjreilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignatiusjreilly)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/3 "2000-01-05T00:37:00Z")
Didn’t Kevin Costner do it in \* Waterworld \*. Seemed pretty logical to me at the time. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/4 "2000-01-05T04:05:00Z")
It _can_ be done. But I’d try a lot of other ways to make water (pun intended) before I tried that one. Maybe the concern arises because it’s difficult to do it right. It’s hard to imagine a homemade contraption that would do the job without allowing contamination (odor, bacteria, etc) into the “finished” product. ## IIRC, they recycle water on spacecraft. And I’d want someone like a NASA engineer on the job. OTOH, all water has been recycled numerous times, so I guess we can’t be too fussy. He that questioneth much shall learn much, and content much; but especially if he apply his questions to the skill of the persons whom he asketh; for he shall give them occasion to please themselves in speaking, and himself shall continually gather knowledge. But let his questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for a poser; and let him be sure to leave other men their turns to speak. Francis Bacon ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/5 "2000-01-05T05:31:00Z")
I recall reading that when penicillin was being experimented with during WWII so little could be produced in the lab that it would be recovered from the urine of the patients using the stuff. If they could recover an antibiotic from urine it would seem that getting water would be a cakewalk. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/6 "2000-01-05T19:32:00Z")
I was thinking about other components, i.e., urea. Urea is one of the chemicals of choice of bombmakers. Mass purchases of it are automatically suspect, and I believe you need a license to do so. So couldn’t would-be terrorists just extract urea from their own pee to create their weapons? * * * Everybody got to elevate from the norm - Rush ---
**Author:** ![APB9999](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB9999](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB9999)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/7 "2000-01-05T23:03:00Z")
Well, yes, but for serious terrorism you need a LOT of urea. Maybe we should require that large purchases of coffee be reported to the FBI… ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/8 "2000-01-05T23:09:00Z")
One of the serious plot holes with _Waterworld_ was K.K. purifying his own urine when it would have taken far less effort to purify plentiful seawater. * * * “Popeye? Hm? He’s not much of a judge of women!” King Blozo ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/9 "2000-01-06T00:27:00Z")
Heat it up, distill it, easy. What’s the big techonology issue with this? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/10 "2000-01-06T01:27:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Heat it up, distill it, easy. What’s the big techonology issue with this? That’s what I wanted to know. It _sounds_ like a no-brainer, but I keep reading references to the result being poorly or non drinkable. The only thing I can think of is that something volitile (ammonia?) will pass into the distillate along with the H2O. ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/11 "2000-01-06T05:12:00Z")
So, who’s going to bell the cat? ---
**Author:** ![Gator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecccb3/32.png) [@Gator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gator)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2000, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/12 "2000-01-15T20:52:00Z")
There’s a common method to solar distill urine based on survival tactics: Dig a hole in the ground to accept the larger of two (2) buckets (tupperware?)…urine goes in this one. A smaller container goes inside with some kind of weight to keep it from floating/tipping. Cover the hole with plastic sheeting weighing down the edges and corners securly…tight as possible! Place a stone or weight on the center of the taut plastic cover. If you positioned it properly…any solar heat will evaporate the water…which condenses on the plastic sheeting…and drips back down into the smaller/weighted container. Probably not as tasty as $2/btl “designer” stuff…but will keep you alive! For you off-shore boaters…also works with salt water.(Just have to improvise digging in the dirt!) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2000, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/distilling-urine/6194/13 "2000-01-16T02:13:00Z")
Doesn’t distillation only get rid of ions? It wouldn’t get rid of volatile material. If you distill wine you don’t get water, you get brandy (sort of). So are there any not-very-healty volatile chemicals in urine, maybe?