Simha, Prithvi and Karlsson, Caroline and Viskari, Eeva-Liisa and Malila, Riikka and Vinnerås, Björn
(2020).
Field Testing a Pilot-Scale System for Alkaline Dehydration of Source-Separated Human Urine: A Case Study in Finland.
Frontiers in Environmental Science. 8
, 570637
[Journal article]
![]() |
PDF
1MB |
Abstract
Alkaline dehydration can treat human urine to produce a dry and nutrient-rich fertilizer. To evaluate the technology at pilot-scale, we built a prototype with capacity to treat 30 L urine d(-1)and field tested it for the first time at a military training camp in Finland. We operated the system for 3 months and monitored the recovery of nutrients, end-product composition, physicochemical properties and energy consumption. Results revealed that the system received less urine than anticipated, but achieved high dehydration rates (30-40 L d(-1)m(-2)), recovered 30 +/- 6% N, and yielded end-products with 1.4% N, 0.9% P, and 8.3% K. However, we demonstrated that the system had potential to recover nearly 70% N and produce fertilizers containing 13.2% N, 2.3% P, and 6.0% K, if it was operated at the design capacity. The energy demand for dehydrating urine was not optimized, but we suggested several ways of reducing it. We also discussed concerns surrounding non-essential heavy metals, salts, and micropollutants, and how they can be overcome to safely recycle urine. Lastly, we pointed out the research gaps that need to be addressed before the technology can be implemented at larger scale.
Authors/Creators: | Simha, Prithvi and Karlsson, Caroline and Viskari, Eeva-Liisa and Malila, Riikka and Vinnerås, Björn | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title: | Field Testing a Pilot-Scale System for Alkaline Dehydration of Source-Separated Human Urine: A Case Study in Finland | ||||||
Series Name/Journal: | Frontiers in Environmental Science | ||||||
Year of publishing : | 2020 | ||||||
Volume: | 8 | ||||||
Article number: | 570637 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 10 | ||||||
Publisher: | FRONTIERS MEDIA SA | ||||||
ISSN: | 2296-665X | ||||||
Language: | English | ||||||
Publication Type: | Journal article | ||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 | ||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 2 Engineering and Technology > 208 Environmental Biotechnology > Water Treatment | ||||||
Keywords: | circular bioeconomy, decentralized systems, nutrient recycling, resource recovery, sanitation, source-separation, urine drying, wastewater treatment | ||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-108390 | ||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-108390 | ||||||
Additional ID: |
| ||||||
ID Code: | 18075 | ||||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap | ||||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Energy and Technology | ||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||
Deposited On: | 04 Nov 2020 15:43 | ||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 15 Jan 2021 19:46 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page