Authors
Pablo Ledezma, Philipp Kuntke, Cees JN Buisman, Jürg Keller, Stefano Freguia
Publication date
2015/4/1
Source
Trends in biotechnology
Volume
33
Issue
4
Pages
214-220
Publisher
Elsevier
Description
The food security of a booming global population demands a continuous and sustainable supply of fertilisers. Their current once-through use [especially of the macronutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)] requires a paradigm shift towards recovery and reuse. In the case of source-separated urine, efficient recovery could supply 20% of current macronutrient usage and remove 50–80% of nutrients present in wastewater. However, suitable technology options are needed to allow nutrients to be separated from urine close to the source. Thus far none of the proposed solutions has been widely implemented due to intrinsic limitations. Microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) have proved to be technically and economically viable for N recovery from urine, opening the path for novel decentralised systems focused on nutrient recovery and reuse.
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