Nutrient Recovery and Recycling from Human Urine: A Circular Perspective on Sanitation and Food Security

Ganesapillai, Mahesh; Simha, Prithvi; Gupta, Kunal; Jayan, M. Arul

doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2016.06.461

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In developed urban settings, urine is the source of 75%, 50% and 10% of the nitrogen, phosphorous and COD present in domestic wastewaters, respectively, whilst it only accounts for less than 5% of the total volume [ 35 , 36 ]. The treatment, or pre-treatment, of this type of waste stream prior to reaching wastewater treatment plants is therefore an attractive solution [ 36 , 37 ] that could perhaps reduce the energy consumption of the wastewater treatment process [ 5 , 30 , [38] , [39] , [40] ]. Besides urea ((NH 2 ) 2 CO), which accounts for 50% of the organic carbon contained in urine, up to 3079 different metabolites are also present [ 41 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalability of self-stratifying microbial fuel cell: Towards height miniaturisation

Walter

Santoro

Greenman

et al. 2019

Bioelectrochemistry

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The scalability of bioelectrochemical systems is a key parameter for their practical implementation in the real-world. Up until now, only urine-fed self-stratifying microbial fuel cells (SSM-MFCs) have been shown to be scalable in width and length with limited power density losses. For practical reasons, the present work focuses on the scalability of SSM-MFCs in the one dimension that has not yet been investigated, namely height. Three different height conditions were considered (1 cm, 2 cm and 3 cm tall electrodes). The normalised power density of the 2 cm and 3 cm conditions were similar either during the durability test under a hydraulic retention time of ≈39 h (i.e. 15.74 ± 0.99 μW.cm −3 ) and during the polarisation experiments (i.e. 27.79 ± 0.92 μW.cm −3 ). Conversely, the 1 cm condition had lower power densities of 11.23 ± 0.07 μW.cm −3 and 17.73 ± 3.94 μW.cm −3 both during the durability test and the polarisation experiment, respectively. These results confirm that SSM-MFCs can be scaled in all 3 dimensions with minimal power density losses, with a minimum height threshold for the electrode comprised between 1 cm and 2 cm.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalability of self-stratifying microbial fuel cell: Towards height miniaturisation

Walter

Santoro

Greenman

et al. 2019

Bioelectrochemistry

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“…Solutions rich in urea-N have been obtained, starting from unhydrolyzed urine, through sorption to and desorption from activated carbon (e.g. Ganesapillai et al, 2016;Simha et al, 2018), and through membrane separation processes, notably nanofiltration (e.g. Pronk, Palmquist, et al, 2006;Lazarova & Spendlingwimmer, 2008).…”

Section: Macronutrient Solutions (Urea-n)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling nutrients contained in human excreta to agriculture: Pathways, processes, and products

Harder

Wielemaker

Larsen

et al. 2019

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology

172

108

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The need for better nutrient management has spurred efforts towards more comprehensive recycling of nutrients contained in human excreta to agriculture. Research in this direction has intensified throughout the past years, continuously unfolding new knowledge and technologies. The present review aspires to provide a systematic synthesis of the field by providing an accessible overview of terminology, recovery pathways and treatment options, and products rendered by treatment. Our synthesis suggests that, rather than focusing on a specific recovery pathway or product and on a limited set of nutrients, there is scope for exploring how to maximize nutrient recovery by combining individual pathways and products and including a broader range of nutrients. To this end, finding ways to more effectively share and consolidate knowledge and information on recovery pathways and products would be beneficial. The present review aims to provide a template that aims to facilitate designing human excreta management for maximum nutrient recovery, and that can serve as foundation for organizing and categorizing information for more effective sharing and consolidation.

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“…This review complements existing research by extending the scope of their work to include past and current research evidence, with a specific focus on the attitudes and perceptions of the use of all human excreta and HEDM in agriculture. The phrase "human excreta and HEDM" is deliberately used to include studies that investigate attitudes and perceptions on agricultural use of material derived from human excreta [51]. The "human excreta" in this review is limited to urine and fecal matter that can be recovered and used for agricultural purposes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes and Perceptions on the Agricultural Use of Human Excreta and Human Excreta Derived Materials: A Scoping Review

et al. 2021

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This study explicates the scope of published literature on the influence of attitudes and perceptions on the intention to use human excreta and human excreta derived materials in agriculture. Using a scoping review methodology, search results from Scopus and Web of Science were screened and synthesized using the DistillerSR web-based application. Out of the 1192 studies identified, 22 published articles met the inclusion criteria. Additional studies were identified by keyword enrichment, hand-searching, and snowballing in other electronic data bases. The benefit perception of the soil health, income, and yield was the main driver for positive attitudes. Perceived health risk and socio-cultural factors were reported as the main barriers to the use of human excreta derived materials in agriculture. Limited information, availability, collection, transport, and storage were the other reported perceived barriers. The influence of socioeconomic and demographic factors on farmers’ attitudes and perceptions was inconclusive, which is potentially attributed to contextual and methodological differences. Social and behavior change communication through community mass campaigns and targeting interventions segregated by socioeconomic and demographic contexts is recommended for development interventions. Future empirical studies could focus on the influence of crop types, treatment processes, food preparation and processing on attitudes and perceptions.

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Nutrient Recovery and Recycling from Human Urine: A Circular Perspective on Sanitation and Food Security

Cited by 22 publications

References 24 publications

Scalability of self-stratifying microbial fuel cell: Towards height miniaturisation

Scalability of self-stratifying microbial fuel cell: Towards height miniaturisation

Recycling nutrients contained in human excreta to agriculture: Pathways, processes, and products

Attitudes and Perceptions on the Agricultural Use of Human Excreta and Human Excreta Derived Materials: A Scoping Review

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