[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6268\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EToilet technology makes fertiliser\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EFresh urine contains approximately nine grammes of nitrogen and one gramme of phosphorus per litre, and the average person produces between one and one-and-a-half litres a day which currently goes to waste. Researchers believe human urine could provide 18 % of the phosphorous and 25 % of the nitrogen currently used for soil fertilisation in the EU.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018With a growing human population and almost no phosphorus reserves in Europe, we rely on imports.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Philipp Kuntke, Wetsus\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EBy extracting these compounds rather than flushing them down the sewer, we could reduce energy-intensive ammonia production and cut our reliance on imported phosphorous ore.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003E\u2018We require phosphorus to ensure the production of crops and, with a growing human population and almost no phosphorus reserves in Europe, we rely on imports,\u2019 said Dr Philipp Kuntke, from Dutch water research firm Wetsus, who was involved in the Europe-wide project, known as ValuefromUrine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s possible thanks to urine-separation toilets and urinals, which stop it being diluted by other wastewater streams.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EIt means the EU-funded project, which finishes next year, has been able to develop a three-step process that uses a bioelectrical reactor, called a microbial electrolysis cell, powered by organic compounds such as sugars and fatty acid which are already in the urine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Bacteria are grown on an electrode and are used to make electrcity. Image courtesy of ValuefromUrine\/ Mariana Rodr\u00edguez Arredondo\u0022 height=\u0022900\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/bacteria.png\u0022 title=\u0022Bacteria are grown on an electrode and are used to make electrcity. Image courtesy of ValuefromUrine\/ Mariana Rodr\u00edguez Arredondo\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EBacteria are grown on an electrode and are used to make electrcity. Image courtesy of ValuefromUrine\/ Mariana Rodr\u00edguez Arredondo\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EThe end-products are struvite and ammonia sulphate, which are commercially available phosphorus and nitrogen fertilisers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy the time the project ends in August 2016, the researchers hope to have designed a device that fits into a 20-foot container and can turn one cubic metre of urine into about 1 kilogramme of phosphorus and 10 kilogrammes\u0026nbsp;of ammonium every day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EDiverting urine from wastewater could also reduce the cost of water treatment, as it accounts for approximately 80 % of the nitrogen that enters treatment plants. \u2018If you look at the cost of wastewater treatment plants, the majority of the costs go into processes that remove nitrogen,\u2019 Dr Kuntke said\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px; line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003EDown the pan\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s not the only way to make Europe\u2019s toilets less wasteful. Toilet flushing accounts for a quarter of European domestic water use, plus there is the infrastructure required for sewage systems and the energy used by water treatment plants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EOne obvious way to deal with these issues is dry toilets \u2013 they don\u0027t use any water and the waste drops into a pit, so no sewage system or treatment is required.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EA Europe-wide group of researchers has developed a new type of water-free toilet that could be used at high-frequency locations such as motorway service stations, as well as a kit toilet for remote locations and a mobile unit that can be deployed during major events.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003ETo do this they made a bug-killing plastic and coating which smoothed the pipework to lower the risk of stinky blockages and keep bacteria and parasites in check, as well as an odour-killing biofilter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003ETheir work was part of the EU-funded DRYCLOSET project, and the plan is now to produce and sell the toilets commercially.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022DRYCLOSET is building dry toilets that use worms to compost human waste. Image courtesy of DRYCLOSET\u0022 height=\u0022900\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Drycloset%20-%20Lajo.JPG\u0022 title=\u0022DRYCLOSET is building dry toilets that use worms to compost human waste. Image courtesy of DRYCLOSET\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EDRYCLOSET is building dry toilets that use worms to compost human waste. Image courtesy of DRYCLOSET\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003EThey also improved the compostability of waste by developing a way to skim off the solids and send them to a worm bed, a process known as vermicomposting, increasing the safety of compost compared with bacteria.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022Standard\u0022\u003E\u2018In most traditional dry toilets there is no separation between urine and solids so the composting process is done by microbiological activity,\u2019 explained Isabelle Czekajewski, a research and development engineer at Sanisph\u00e8re, the French company coordinating the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-bxouhi1qdkbyisd1r5el8cwppgzdq2zhoyynjl7nruk\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-BXouHI1qdKBYisd1r5EL8CWPpgzDq2ZHoYYnJL7nrUk\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]