Estimating environmental and societal impacts from scaling up urine concentration technologies

Gunnarsson, Matilda; Lalander, Cecilia; McConville, Jennifer

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135194

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…We focused long-term evaluation on urine treatment because urine is a high-conductivity, high-TAN waste stream amenable to energy-efficient electrochemical treatment ,, and because source separation of urine could provide many wastewater treatment benefits. − When treating influent urine containing 5,050 ± 210 mg/L TAN for over 30 days, ECS achieved consistent steady-state removal and recovery efficiencies of 83.4 ± 1.5 and 73.0 ± 2.9%, respectively (Figure A), after an initial transient start-up phase (Figures S2-4 through S2-7). Most electrochemical nutrient recovery technologies, except bioelectrochemical systems, have been operated for much shorter times on the order of days. , …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Robustness and Failure Mechanisms of Electrochemical Stripping for Wastewater Ammonia Recovery

Kogler,

Sharma,

Tiburcio

et al. 2024

ACS Environ. Au

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Nitrogen in wastewater has negative environmental, human health, and economic impacts but can be recovered to reduce the costs and environmental impacts of wastewater treatment and chemical production. To recover ammonia/ ammonium (total ammonia nitrogen, TAN) from urine, we operated electrochemical stripping (ECS) for over a month, achieving 83.4 ± 1.5% TAN removal and 73.0 ± 2.9% TAN recovery. With two reactors, we recovered sixteen 500-mL batches (8 L total) of ammonium sulfate (20.9 g/L TAN) approaching commercial fertilizer concentrations (28.4 g/L TAN) and often having >95% purity. While evaluating the operation and maintenance needs, we identified pH, full-cell voltage, product volume, and water flux into the product as informative process monitoring parameters that can be inexpensively and rapidly measured. Characterization of fouled cation exchange and omniphobic membranes informs cleaning and reactor modifications to reduce fouling with organics and calcium/magnesium salts. To evaluate the impact of urine collection and storage on ECS, we conducted experiments with urine at different levels of dilution with flush water, extents of divalent cation precipitation, and degrees of hydrolysis. ECS effectively treated urine under all conditions, but minimizing flush water and ensuring storage until complete hydrolysis would enable energy-efficient TAN recovery. Our experimental results and cost analysis motivate a multifaceted approach to improving ECS's technical and economic viability by extending component lifetimes, decreasing component costs, and reducing energy consumption through material, reactor, and process engineering. In summary, we demonstrated urine treatment as a foothold for electrochemical nutrient recovery from wastewater while supporting the applicability of ECS to seven other wastewaters with widely varying characteristics. Our findings will facilitate the scale-up and deployment of electrochemical nutrient recovery technologies, enabling a circular nitrogen economy that fosters sanitation provision, efficient chemical production, and water resource protection.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Robustness and Failure Mechanisms of Electrochemical Stripping for Wastewater Ammonia Recovery

Kogler,

Sharma,

Tiburcio

et al. 2024

ACS Environ. Au

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show abstract

“…To this end, it has been demonstrated that nitrogen emissions to wastewater can be reduced significantly at Malmö city if 60% urine concentration is achieved. [ 68 ] Similarly, if 15–30% of urine in Malmö city is recycled and repurposed, half the fertilizer demand in the city could be met. It has also been revealed that urine‐based fertilizers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption but could result in higher acidification potential and particulate matter emissions.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repurposing Sewage and Toilet Systems: Environmental, Public Health, and Person‐Centered Healthcare Applications

Yigci,

Bonventre,

Ozcan

et al. 2024

Global Challenges

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Global terrestrial water supplies are rapidly depleting due to the consequences of climate change. Water scarcity results in an inevitable compromise of safe hygiene and sanitation practices, leading to the transmission of water‐borne infectious diseases, and the preventable deaths of over 800.000 people each year. Moreover, almost 500 million people lack access to toilets and sanitation systems. Ecosystems are estimated to be contaminated by 6.2 million tons of nitrogenous products from human wastewater management practices. It is therefore imperative to transform toilet and sewage systems to promote equitable access to water and sanitation, improve public health, conserve water, and protect ecosystems. Here, the integration of emerging technologies in toilet and sewage networks to repurpose toilet and wastewater systems is reviewed. Potential applications of these systems to develop sustainable solutions to environmental challenges, promote public health, and advance person‐centered healthcare are discussed.

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Comment on “Cow products: boon to human health and food security”

Teixeira da Silva

2023

Trop Anim Health Prod

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Estimating environmental and societal impacts from scaling up urine concentration technologies

Cited by 6 publications

References 44 publications

Long-Term Robustness and Failure Mechanisms of Electrochemical Stripping for Wastewater Ammonia Recovery

Long-Term Robustness and Failure Mechanisms of Electrochemical Stripping for Wastewater Ammonia Recovery

Repurposing Sewage and Toilet Systems: Environmental, Public Health, and Person‐Centered Healthcare Applications

Comment on “Cow products: boon to human health and food security”

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