Photoinactivation of jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) urease in fresh human urine using dichromatic low-pressure UV irradiation

In source-separating sanitation systems, inhibiting urease activity prevents enzymatic urea hydrolysis and volatilisation of ammonia when urine is concentrated by evaporation. This study tested UV-based photoinactivation as a novel alternative to existing methods of inactivating urease that require dosing urine with acid, base or oxidants. The enzymatic activity of jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) urease in water, synthetic fresh urine and real fresh urine was investigated, with and without a 15 W low-pressure UV lamp that emitted 185 nm and 254 nm radiation. In UV-free controls, urea was hydrolysed at a rate of 3.2 × 10−3 mmol mgurease−1 min−1, 3.3 × 10−3 mmol mgurease−1 min−1 and 2.0 × 10−3 mmol mgurease−1 min−1 in water, synthetic urine and real urine, respectively. In the presence of UV, no urease activity was detected in any matrix. A UV irradiation time of 1.3 and 3.3 min was needed for inactivating urease in water and synthetic urine, respectively, whereas an irradiation time of 71 min was needed for inactivating urease in real urine. Overall, the electrical energy demand for photoinactivation of urease in real human urine was estimated to be 29.1 kWh m−3. Photolysis and photo-oxidation of amino acid residues at the active site of the enzyme were likely reasons for inactivation. Organic metabolites in real urine affected photoinactivation by (i) absorbing radiation between 190 nm and 400 nm, which reduced incident radiant flux; and (ii) scavenging hydroxyl radicals, which impeded oxidative damage to the enzyme. Overall, the findings demonstrate the feasibility of on-site treatment using a low-pressure UV lamp for inactivating urease in freshly excreted urine.