Due to high phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) content, human urine has often proven to suitable raw material for fertiliser production. However, most of the urine diverting toilets or male urinals dilute the urine 2 to 10 times. This decreases the efficiency in the precipitation of P and stripping of N. In this work, a commercial fertiliser blend was used as forward osmosis (FO) draw solution (DS) to concentrate real diluted urine. During the concentration, the urea in the urine is recovered as it diffuses to the fertiliser. Additionally, the combination of concentrate PO4 3-, reverse Mg 2+ flux from the DS and the Mg 2+ presents in the flushing water, was able to recover the PO4 3as struvite. With 50% concentrated urine, 93% P recovery was achieved without the addition of an external Mg 2+ . Concurrently, 50% of the N was recovered in the diluted fertiliser DS. An economic analysis was performed to understand the feasibility of this process. It was found that the revenue from the produced fertilisers could potentially offset the operational and capital costs of the system.Additionally, if the reduction in the downstream nutrients load is accounted for, the total revenue of the process would be over 5.3 times of the associated costs.
In modern times, humans have contributed to the occurrence of phthalate esters (PEs) in various environmental matrices by consuming plastics that generally contain PEs, which are essential synthetic organic chemicals for fabrication of various consumer products. Five beaches in Ulsan and Busan, South Korea, were investigated for the anthropogenic occurrence of four PEs (dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)) in beach seawater. Using stir-bar sorptive extraction-thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, DnBP and DEHP were determined as generally dominant. At Ilsan Beach, both the northern and southern ends showed higher DnBP and DEHP concentrations than the middle of the beach, while DMP and DEP showed similar concentrations at all points. The differences in the DnBP and DEHP concentrations may be related to the fishery industry and domestic sewage inflow to the beach. In addition, a comparison among Ilsan, Imnang, and Songjeong beaches suggested the effects of neighboring industrial areas on the DnBP and DEHP ratio. This study provides information on the effects of seasons, weather events, the proximity of rivers, industrial behavior, and domestic sewage to PE concentrations in beach seawater.
The application of appropriate technologies in a developing country is an opportunity to introduce green technology which may lead people to imagine a better life. This point is at the intersection of appropriate technology and sustainable development. This research focuses on Hatphain village where there is no clean water, sewage system, or power lines. Two environmental technologies (an unpowered water purification system, Ongdalsaem and an eco-toilet system, BeeVi toilet) were introduced, based on the concepts of the environmental self- sustainable village and feces Standard Money (fSM). We found that the Ongdalsaem was effective in reducing the concentration of nitrogen and lead in the water in Hatphain. The BeeVi water-free toilet was installed, allowing urine and feces to be separated and used as compost. We strived to spread ideas of sustainability using new eco-circulation experiences and encouraging learning about environmental technology through practical and playing facilities that residents managed themselves.
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