Urine and grey water based liquid fertilizer – Production and the response of plants

Jurga, Anna; Ratkiewicz, Krzysztof; Wdowikowska, Anna; Reda, Małgorzata; Janicka, Małgorzata; Chohura, P.; Janiak, Kamil

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117248

Cited by 7 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 77 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Photosynthetic apparatuses are highly sensitive to changes in the environmental conditions to which plants are subjected [ 36 ]. The composition of the growing medium based on urine and grey water, as well as other factors, including nutrient element deficiency and/or excess sodium ions, may affect photosynthetic activity in plants [ 7 ]. Therefore, the concentrations of photosynthetic pigments and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were determined in the leaves of cucumber plants grown on NUGE, HS, and RCF media.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For several years, there has been an increasing amount of discussion regarding the deepening water deficit crisis [ 7 ]. With growing demands from human activities on the one hand, and climate change problems on the other, many regions around the world are struggling to provide enough freshwater.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Grey water, as a larger source of recycled water, is one of the candidates used for the dilution of nitrified urine streams. Grey water is domestic wastewater that comes from sources such as dish washing, laundry, or bathing streams [ 7 ]. The main contamination of grey water is the accumulation of surfactants originating from detergents [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Hydrocharis dubia hydroponic cultivation, Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS) had a slight toxic effect on plant growth in the range of 0.5–20 mg/L [ 11 ]. Nevertheless, some surfactants can be highly biodegradable and delicate to plants, and they do not limit the use of grey water for cultivation [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This can be important when space for growing crops is limited, such as in urban areas or environments with the risk of little fertile or contaminated soil [ 7 , 12 ]. However, the most important arguments in favor of hydroponics are the high yield, reduction in water consumption, high control of nutrient solution composition, and maintenance of stable plant growth conditions, as well as round-the-year production or minimal disease and pest incidence [ 7 , 13 ]. These all give us the opportunity to reach the healthiest plants with higher yields and better quality compared to traditional cultivation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Water and Nutrient Recovery for Cucumber Hydroponic Cultivation in Simultaneous Biological Treatment of Urine and Grey Water

Wdowikowska

Reda

Kabała

et al. 2023

Plants

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water and nutrient deficiencies in soil are becoming a serious threat to crop production. Therefore, usable water and nutrient recovery from wastewater, such as urine and grey water, should be considered. In this work, we showed the possibility of using grey water and urine after processing in an aerobic reactor with activated sludge in which the nitrification process takes place. The resulting liquid (nitrified urine and grey water, NUG) contains three potential factors that can adversely affect plant growth in a hydroponic system: anionic surfactants, nutrient deficits, and salinity. After dilution and supplementation with small amounts of macro- and micro-elements, NUG was suitable for cucumber cultivation. Plant growth on this modified medium (enriched nitrified urine and grey water, NUGE) was similar to that of plants cultivated on Hoagland solution (HS) and reference commercial fertilizer (RCF). The modified medium (NUGE) contained a significant amount of sodium (Na) ions. Therefore, typical effects of salt stress were observed in cucumber plants, including reduced chlorophyll levels, slightly weaker photosynthesis parameters, increased H2O2 levels, lipid peroxidation, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity, and proline content in the leaves. In addition, reduced protein levels were observed in plants treated with recycled medium. At the same time, lower nitrate content in tissues was found, which may have resulted from their intensive use by nitrate reductase (NR), the activity of which significantly increased. Although cucumber is a glycophyte, it grew very well in this recycled medium. Interestingly, salt stress and possibly anionic surfactants promoted flower formation, which in turn could positively affect plant yield.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%