Advancing Nutrient Recovery through Urine-Derived Fertilizers (UDF) in the United States

Dylan Raye-Leonard and Audrey PallmeyerUniversity of Michigan

“Implementing water resource recovery principles has the potential for improving environmental, economic, and social outcomes and for achieving a paradigm shift from simply managing wastewater to the sustainable management of resources”

-MWEA Water Resource Recovery Leadership Summit Recap (2017)

MWEA and Nutrient Resource Recovery

Rethinking Resource Recovery

CNP

N2 CO2

CNPMined

Phosphorus

Nitrogen Fixation

Conventional Nutrient Cycling

What is in Wastewater?

Human waste is less than 1% of the volume of wastewater

(Larsen & Gujer, 1996)

Human Waste by Mass

Urine comprises the

majority of the mass of

human waste

Wet Dry

(Vinneras & Jonsson, 2002)

Nutrient Content of Human Waste

Urine contains 87% of

the Nitrogen and 66%

of the Phosphorus in

human waste

PhosphorusNitrogen

(Meinzinger & Oldenburg, 2009)

Micropollutants in Human Waste

On average, urine

contains over half of

pharmaceuticals in

human waste

(Lienert et al., 2007)

Urine Diversion Nutrient Cycling

CNP

N2 CO2

CNP

Food

Fertilizer

Urine Diversion and Urine-Derived Fertilizer (UDF) May:

Reduce the energy associated with fertilizer production and treatment of

nutrient-polluted water

Enhance food security by recovering nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in food

Reduce water consumption by reducing flushing, and improve water quality

PhosphorusNitrogen

Is this really new?

Is this really new? The Rich Earth Institute - Brattleboro, VT -

Is this really new? Hampton Roads Sanitation District- Virginia Beach, VA -

Is this really new?

Is this really new?

INFEWS Project

● Processing Technologies

● Public Perception

● Life Cycle Impacts

● Regulatory Environment

● Industry Requirements

Photo Credit: Joseph Xu

What if Urine Never Became Sewage?

Co

llect

ion

Pro

cess

ing

Photo Credit: Joseph Xu

Pro

cess

ing

Ap

plic

atio

n

Public Perception Research

What did you think of the urine-diverting facility?

What did you think of the urine-diverting facility?

Would you consider eating food grown with a Urine-Derived Fertilizer?

Would you consider eating food grown with a Urine-Derived Fertilizer?

Does viewing the “Uri” Animations impact perceptions of Urine and UDF?

Does viewing the “Uri” Animations impact perceptions of Urine and UDF?

Ongoing Research: Surveys, Interviews, and Focus Groups

What drives attitudes toward acceptance of UDFs?

What key stakeholders should be involved in

implementing broadscale Urine Diversion?

● Farmers

● Consumers

● Legislators

● Regulators

● Wastewater Treatment Operators and Technicians!

Advancing Nutrient Recovery through Urine-Derived Fertilizers (UDF) in the United States

Principal Investigators: Nancy G. Love, Diana S. Aga, Rebecca Hardin, Abraham Noe-Hays & Krista Wigginton

Contributing Senior Personnel: Charles B. Bott, Glen T. Daigger, Joseph Eisenberg, Greg Keoleian, Linda Macpherson, Kim Nace, Tatiana Schreiber & Steven Skerlos

Student and Staff Contributors: Arthur Davis, Stephen Hilton, Heather Goetsch, Phoebe Gooding, Nick Lowe, Waylan Mui, Audrey Pallmeyer, Neil Patel, Dylan Raye-Leonard, Enrique Rodriguez, Alexi Sinanaj, Will Tarpeh, Rebecca Wombacher & Bowen Zhou

Sources

● Larsen, T. A.; Gujer, W., 1996. Separate management of anthropogenic nutrient solutions (human urine). Water Science & Technology, 34 (3-4 -4 pt 2), 87–94.

● Lienert, J.; Burki, T.; Escher, B. I., 2007. Reducing micropollutants with source control: substance flow analysis of 212 pharmaceuticals in faeces and urine. Water Science & Technology, 56 (5), 87–96.

● Meinzinger, F. and Oldenburg, M., 2009. Characteristics of source-separated household wastewater flows: a statistical assessment. Water Science & Technology, 59(9), 1785–1791.

● Michigan Water Environment Association, 2017. Michigan’s Water Resource Utility of the Future: Recovery Leadership Summit. Retrieved from https://www.mi-wea.org/docs/4._Summit_Recap_Final_20170329.pdf

● Vinneras, B.; Jonsson, H., 2002. Faecal separation for nutrient management – evaluation of different separation techniques. Urban Water, 4 (4), 321–329