Communicating the Risks and Benefits of Human Urine-Derived Fertilizer

Cohen, Alex Segrè; Love, Nancy G.; Árvai, Joseph

doi:10.3390/su12239973

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…This study's findings were similar to those that established that knowledge of urine application in the field is beneficial (Mariwah & Drangert, 2011). Similarly, (Segrè Cohen et al, 2020) found that human urine diversion and recycling is a viable and energyefficient means of recovering nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium from wastewater. As the research participants in this PAR study, the first and the second authors reflected that the vegetables produced in the school Eco-garden using human urine yield more than those using water only.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Application of Human Urine in Vegetable Production in a School Garden: A Participatory Action Research

Devkota

2023

Pragyaratna

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Urine separation toilets are a possible route for achieving maximum recovery and recycling urine nutrients. However, using fresh urine as agricultural fertilizer is problematic and controversial concerning hygiene, storage, distribution, and supply. The intervention of this study was implemented at a public high school in Nepal. This study explores the applicability of urine diversion toilets in the school setting to improve organic vegetable production from the school's Eco-garden and the status of improving sanitation. A urine diversion toilet was constructed, and hardware and software-based participatory interventions were undertaken in the schools' Eco-garden. It was found that the urine diversion toilet is useful in preventing surface water from being polluted and improving students' sanitation and hygiene behavior. When cultivating vegetables using human urine fertilizer and animal fertilizer in different plots of the same area, it is found that human urine as fertilizer increases by 40% more production of the vegetables in comparison with using animal fertilizer. It is concluded that urine-fertilized plots have more vegetables with nutrients than animal fertilizer. Human urine application could be effectively used as a nutrient fertilizer, a new area of scientific research in the research frontier.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Application of Human Urine in Vegetable Production in a School Garden: A Participatory Action Research

Devkota

2023

Pragyaratna

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“…On average, a person excretes about 550 L urine/year, containing approximately 0.4 kg P, 4 kg N, and 0.9 kg K. Throughout history, the direct application of urine as a fertilizer has been common practice [69], with the potential risk of contamination from pathogens. Nowadays, concerns also include emerging pollutants (pharmaceuticals, hormone residue, and micropollutants) [70]. Methods for the safe recovery of nutrients from separated YW have also been developed [68].…”

Section: Uww Mining: Approaches and Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Wastewater Mining for Circular Resource Recovery: Approaches and Technology Analysis

Capodaglio

2023

Water

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Urban areas comprise less than 1% of the Earth’s land surface, yet they host more than half the global population and are responsible for the majority of global energy use and related CO2 emissions. Urbanization is increasing the speed and local intensity of water cycle exploitation, with a large number of cities suffering from water shortage problems globally. Wastewater (used water) contains considerable amounts of embedded energy and recoverable materials. Studies and applications have demonstrated that recovering or re-capturing water, energy, and materials from wastewater is a viable endeavor, with several notable examples worldwide. Reclaiming all these resources through more widespread application of effective technological approaches could be feasible and potentially profitable, although challenging from several points of view. This paper reviews the possibilities and technical opportunities applicable to the mining of resources within the urban water cycle and discusses emerging technologies and issues pertaining to resource recovery and reuse applications. The present and future sustainability of approaches is also discussed. Since sewage management issues are not “one size fits all”, local conditions must be carefully considered when designing optimal local resource recovery solutions, which are influenced not just by technology but also by multiple economic, geographical, and social factors.

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“…A perception survey conducted by Devkota et al (2020) in a Nepal community school shows that only a few teachers agreed to use urine as fertilizer in their school garden. However, acceptance of eco-sanitation food products can be increased by using various methods of communication (Cohen et al, 2020).…”

Section: Perception Of People On the Use Of Urine As Fertilizermentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception and impact of micropollutants in urine-based liquid fertilizer on crop production: A comprehensive review of Eco-sanitation practices

Barnett

2023

jaar

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Large-scale sustainable agriculture presents a formidable challenge globally, resulting in severe food insecurity for approximately 52% and 48% of people living in rural and urban areas, respectively. An estimated 690 million individuals suffer from hunger annually due to the high cost of chemical fertilizers and other factors. To reduce costs, source-separated urine offers a promising alternative for crop production, despite containing more nitrogen and phosphorus than traditional fertilizers. However, human urine also contains pharmaceuticals and micropollutants with adverse effects on human health and the environment. Human urine provides essential micronutrients for plant growth, with studies showing similar nutrient concentrations between concentrated urine and mineral fertilizers. Nevertheless, the presence of heavy metals and other contaminants in urine raises safety concerns. While urine diversion toilets can safely collect urine, their use as a liquid fertilizer requires careful consideration due to the presence of disease-causing organisms, pharmaceuticals, and metabolites that contribute to water and soil contamination. Consumers and farmers alike worry about the safety of crops fertilized with urine, given the perception of disease-causing pathogens. This review explores the impact of urine and chemical fertilizers on plant yield as well as the effects of heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and microplastics on human health and the environment. Various methods to remove antibiotics from urine, such as membrane bioreactors combined with complex chemicals and physicochemical processes, were also examined. These methods, including activated powdered carbon, nano-filtration, ozone, and ozone/UV, target specific antibiotics and their metabolites to ensure the safety of urine-derived fertilizers.

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Communicating the Risks and Benefits of Human Urine-Derived Fertilizer

Cited by 8 publications

References 60 publications

Application of Human Urine in Vegetable Production in a School Garden: A Participatory Action Research

Application of Human Urine in Vegetable Production in a School Garden: A Participatory Action Research

Urban Wastewater Mining for Circular Resource Recovery: Approaches and Technology Analysis

Perception and impact of micropollutants in urine-based liquid fertilizer on crop production: A comprehensive review of Eco-sanitation practices

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