Category: English

Jenna joins the Swedish Tech Delegation to South Africa

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Jenna Senecal joined the Swedish Tech Delegation to Cape Town, South Africa during the end of April 2022. This was part of Cape Town / Stockholm Connect, which is an internationalization project and co-creation platform where the goal is to strengthen tech and investor ties between Sweden and South Africa. During the week, Jenna met with other Swedish companies looking at establishing in South Africa and several South African startups looking at their growth potential.

A highlight for Jenna was meeting Birger Lundgren and Michèle Spooner who are working hard to bring affordable and sustainable sanitation to schools (as a start!).

Photo by Birger Lundgren

New publication digs deep into dissolution behaviour of Magnesium Hydroxide in Human Urine

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Here’s a new paper we published in Frontiers in Environmental Science: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.889119/full

In the study, we systematically analysed the kinetics and thermodynamics of how magnesium hydroxide dissolves in different types of human urine (fresh urine and fresh urine concentrated by evaporation). We showed that Mg hydroxide has a unique dissolution behaviour which is unlike that of other alkaline earth hydroxides, especially when water is removed from urine. We detail conditions and design criteria for alkalising and for dehydrating urine, which is useful when developing source-separating sanitation systems.

A cool aspect of the study was that we found a smart way to simulate the kinetics of how fast Mg hydroxide dissolves, how fast various precipitates form (e.g. struvite, apatite), and how fast urine is alkalised and saturated. We did this by matching the experimentally measured pH of urine with its thermodynamically simulated pH. This approach could be applied to any system as long as the parameter we measure is something we can also simulate thermodynamically.

Abdulhamid Aliahmad’s one-year follow-up seminar

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On the 20th of April, Abdulhamid (Abood) Aliahmad had his one-year follow-up seminar.The presentation focused on the findings of the first study and inputs from the second study.

The first study focuses on evaluating whether the current state of knowledge concerning urine recycling technologies is sufficient to facilitate upscaling development and increased diffusion. Knowledge development and diffusion is a key function in the development of technological innovation systems (TIS). The study proposes a multi-criteria framework, together with bibliometric analysis to conduct such evaluation. The second study will follow up on this one examining other functions of the TIS.

He preliminary concluded that urine recycling TIS has the tendency for strong publication rate growth and diffusion between countries. However, the function still has insufficiency in some criteria. The analysis identified the lack of innovation in scientific research and the lack of diversification of emerging technologies into the TIS as weak elements. The frequency of research publication and pilot-scale implementations on each technology shall be higher.

He also included the proposed approaches for his next two studies. The seminar ended with many interesting questions and discussions.

If you want to know more about his research, click here.

Beer Tasting from Urine-fertilized Barley

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The SLU Drying team travelled to Gotland join Jenna Senecal (Sanitation360), Johannes Obermeier (Brewmaster, Gotlands Bryggeri), and the Science Park Gotland team to take part in the tasting of beer brewed at Gotlands Bryggeri. This special event evaluated the quality of barley that was grown last summer (2021) on Gotland with urine fertilizer. The Master Brewer was happy with the results!

This is part of a three year project called Växtnäringskretslopp till uthållig ölproduktion (N2 Brew for short) that is looking into the service chain of recycling urine as a fertilizer. Urine contains the same nutrients used to grow the food that we consume – in better managing the natural resource found in our wastewater, we can build a circular economy while protecting water quality. This beer is not for sale, but keep posted about how the next brew from 2022 barley harvest preforms.

Editorial in Journal of Insects as Food and Feed Vol. 8, No. 4, 2022

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This month Kretsloppsteknik’s Cecilia Lalander and Björn Vinnerås published an editorial in Journal of Insects as Food and Feed about the hindrances that exist in the EU that prevent a true insect based closed-loop circular economy in the EU. The opportunity to write an editorial in JIFF comes as of Cecilia being one of the associated editors of the journal. Please, read the full editorial if you want to find out what actions we believe are needed for achieving a circular insect food production system in the EU.

 

EWB mini-series on Sustainable Sanitation Solutions

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This Friday, on 8th of April, Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is hosting its 1st seminar as a part of mini-series that focus on Sustainable Sanitation Solutions. Here, Håkan Jönsson and Jennifer McConvile will talk about safe and sustainable ways to recover nutrients, water and energy from sanitation systems. The seminar will take place at SLU but can also be attended digitally.

If you are interested in finding out more about EWB and upcoming seminar(s), click here.

 

Study visit to Black Soldier Fly lab

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Last week the Black Soldier Fly lab hosted a study visit for 25 students from the SLU Youth institute with a mix of Swedish, Bulgarian, Slovenian and Spanish students. We discussed the worldwide issue of waste generation, its impact on the environment, the globally increasing need for protein and the possibility to produce protein from waste. Black soldier fly composting will continue to be a valuable option to both reduce organic wastes and produce protein. 

 

If you want to know more contact Viktoria Wiklicky and Cecilia Lalander

Study visit to Gebers and Understenshöjde

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Last week several members of the group had the pleasure of visiting two ecological housing collectives situated in Stockholm – Gebers and Understenshöjden. They invited us into their homes and gave us a glimpse of their lives and shared with us experiences on how it has been to live with urine-separating toilets for more than 25 years.

Visitors and the residents of both communities also had an opportunity to listen to a lecture by Tove Larsen, a renowned researcher from Eawag, where she shared what positive impacts urine diversion has and can have on the world and the future of nutrient recycling.

After the lecture, Jenna presented our version for future of urine recycling and talked about the benefits of drying urine onsite and how this can be done using Sanitation360’s solutions. The day was then concluded with interesting discussions, valuable exchange of information and a promise of future collaborations.

 

Can urine help save food production under crises?

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Field with crops. Two persons in the background.

Prithvi spoke with Agnes Bondesson, SLU Global’s International Scientific Communications Officer about the ongoing food and fertiliser price inflation. Check out the article here: https://internt.slu.se/en/news-originals/2022/3/can-urine-help-save-food-production-under-crises/ or read below –

With the current state in the world, seen to conflicts and climate change, the question about food production in case of short-term or long-term crises has been emphasised. Sweden has a solid food production, but it is a production vulnerable for disruptions of imported products such as fertilisers, diesel, pesticides, seeds and protein feed as well as electricity. One of the main components in conventional plant production is the use of imported fertilisers. When the climate crisis, higher prices and insecurity in import forces us to rethink our ways to use artificial fertilisers there is a need to see other solutions. 

Continue reading Can urine help save food production under crises?

Possibilities for changing to resource recovery in Kampala’s on-site sanitation regime

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We are proud to share a recently published study from the SPANS project related to opportunities for introducing resource recovery innovations in Uganda. In particular we look at the four source-separating on-site sanitation systems – niches. The study was performed in collaboration with Makerere University and RISE. It uses the multi-level perspectives of socio-technical systems to deepen our  understand the existing situation (regime). Through this in-depth analysis of current practices in the Ugandan sanitation sector, we have been able to highlight stress points that could be used to leverage a change to new systems and ways of doing things. Stakeholder specific suggestions for action based on results of this study include:

  • Utilities should pilot innovative solutions in order to demonstrate their advantages and build knowledge.
  • Universities should adapt curricula to break the dominance of sewage systems, including more on-site solutions and Best Available Technology (BAT) approach to selection of systems.
  • Researchers should disseminate knowledge regarding technical advantages of the niches.
  • Niches should focus on possibilities for simplifying organisational structures, streamlining and clarifying roles and responsibilities.
  • Policy makers should adapt policy environments to reflect actual and planned reality of sanitation services, including making public funding available for the on-site regime and its niches.

 

For more information contact Jennifer McConville.