Nitrogen and phosphorous recycling from human urine by household electrochemical fixed bed in sparsely populated regions

Jingwei Hao, Huabin Zeng, Xuewei Li, Yifeng Zhang, Yang Lei, Guoping Sheng, Xu Zhao*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

Decentralized treatment of human urine in sparsely populated regions could avoid the problem of sewage collection in traditionally centralized treatment schemes and simultaneously utilize the recovered N/P fertilizer in-situ to nurture gardens. Herein, an integrated electrochemical fixed bed packed with divided magnesite and carbon zones was constructed for the pretreatment of human urine, followed by the recovery of 95.0% NH4+ and 85.8% PO43− via struvite precipitation and NH3 volatilization as well as the on-site employment of the produced struvite as fertilizer. In the process, the acid/base zones created by electrochemical water splitting dissolved the magnesite filler as the Mg2+ source of struvite, further creating an ideal pH environment for struvite precipitation and NH3 volatilization in the effluent. Without the need to control solution pH by chemical addition, the system can resist impacts from changes in water quality by adjustment of the current density and flow rate, indicating its great potential for automatic operation. Life cycle assessment indicated that the on-site employment of produced struvite avoids the long-distance fertilizer transportation required for fertilization, thus reducing carbon emission by a hundred million tons per year if the household facility is driven by clean electricity.
Original languageEnglish
Article number118467
JournalWater Research
Volume218
Number of pages9
ISSN0043-1354
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Decentralized system
  • N/P recovery
  • Human urine
  • Acid-base zone
  • Carbon emission reduction

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