<font color = cccccc> From the coalition of "Good Idea Freaks", comes the latest for the 'Hungry Soldier' If your short on swamp water, just add.....</font>

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996185
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Army rations rehydrated by urine

19:00 21 July 04

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Would you eat food cooked in your own urine? Food scientists working for the US military have developed a dried food ration that troops can hydrate by adding the filthiest of muddy swamp water or even peeing on it.

The ration comes in a pouch containing a filter that removes 99.9 per cent of bacteria and most toxic chemicals from the water used to rehydrate it, according to the Combat Feeding Directorate, part of the US Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts. This is the same organisation that created the "indestructible sandwich" that will stay fresh for three years (New Scientist print edition, 10 April 2002).

The aim is to reduce the amount of water soldiers need to carry. One day's food supply of three meals, weighs 3.5 kilograms but that can be reduced to about 0.4 kilograms with the dehydrated pouches, says spokeswoman Diane Wood.

The pouch - containing chicken and rice initially - relies on osmosis to filter the water or urine. When two solutions of different concentrations are separated by a semipermeable membrane, with gaps that allow only water molecules to pass through, the water is drawn to the more concentrated side.

The membranes are made of thin sheets of a cellulose-based plastic, with gaps between the fibres that are just 0.5 nanometres across, too small for bacteria to pass through.

A hungry soldier pours dirty water into one end of a foil sachet containing two inner pouches separated by the membrane. The water seeps through the membrane into the dehydrated food on the other side. As it dissolves large molecules in the food, it creates a very high concentration solution. The osmotic pressure created then draws more water through the membrane.

Hydration Technology of Albany, Oregon, which makes the membrane, says soldiers should only use urine in an absolute emergency because the membrane is too coarse to filter out urea.

The body will not find this toxic over the short term, says Ed Beaudry, an engineer with HTI, but rehydrating food this way in the long term would cause kidney damage.

I like it, at least it's better than adding chemicals to the water to kill the bacteria, this way it is removed before consumption.
But yeah, i think i would feel weird about eating food rehydrated by my own urine.

Well hey, when your desperate...

One thing to say: GROSS

But then again, never been in the position so cant say whether or not Id eat it.

I think its a great idea, if they can reduce the wieght by that much, this could be improved, and who knows what will happen in the future??
Maybe the soldiers will be able to urinate on a small packet and out will pop a grenade :D

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I haven't had breakfast or been to the bathroom yet, so you've put some new options on the table for me this morning Felix. [img]smile.gif[/img]

On the serious side, in a dry environment if you are forced to rely on your own urine to hydrate your food (while not a particularly appetizing idea, it beats starvation), how long could you possibly put out 3.1 kilos of liquid waste per day? I doubt even one.

Yet another amazing break through may help! Military intelligence officials have discovered a way to powder-ize water. No more heavy drums and long supply lines for troop support or small canteens that merely tease the soldier's thirst while he anticipates dehydration. This amazing new product makes a light powder which allows one soldier to easily carry more than a year's supply.

It is amazing!

You only have to add.... um... er... water... oh yeah... that is going to be a problem isn't it.....

:D

A drill Sergeant told me that dehydrated water story when I was in the service(he did a much better job) and had me hanging on every amazing word. I never saw the punch line coming... lol. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[ 09-19-2004, 09:35 AM: Message edited by: Ronn_Bman ]

*bump*

I figured since it is about breakfast time, here in the Americas, I'd bring this menu idea back to the top of the board. :D

So in other words, you piss in a bag and then eat the content. :D

Hahaha, I suppose you could look at it that way :D

Now they just need to develope stilsuits and we'll be totally set...

[ 09-20-2004, 07:59 AM: Message edited by: The Hierophant ]