After rearing about 10.000 larvae on food-graded feed (toast bread) it was time for the big harvest at our greenhouse! After purging and freezing the larvae, we seasoned portions of them with either garlic, lime juice, onions, mint, vinegar, chilli, salt or olive oil and let them soak over night. The result was absolutely amazing – fried for about 5 mins at medium heat, the larvae turned very crispy and added a perfect note to the rest of the meal. They were also enjoyed as snack, just like a bag of chips. Coming in different flavors, you could almost not stop munching on them! 
Category: English
New Publication: Hygiene aspects of urine drying technology
In a new paper published in Water Research, Senecal et al. assessed what hygienic health risks may occur when human urine is dehydrated. The experiment was set up to simulate that the last person using the toilet (before the dehydration medium is changed) is contaminating the medium with misplaced faeces, with no time for dehydration of the urine, i.e. a worst-case scenario. It was found that urine dehydration in itself achieved a concentration < 1 A. suum per 4 g of dehydrated medium which fulfils the WHO guidelines for unrestricted use.
Research exhibition at University of Dar es salaam
Alice Isibika, PhD candidate at Kretsloppsteknik, participated in University of Dar es salaam’s Research Week Exhibition. The event showcased research, innovation, public service and knowledge exchange activities of the university’s academic staff and students to the public. In the post-graduate student projects category, Alice was placed third winner at the first phase and the second winner at the second phase.
PC: Ramadhani Kinyogoli
New publication: Will Indian consumers eat urine-fertilised food?
Decentralised sanitation technologies based on source separation of toilet waste have attracted a lot of research attention – the social sustainability of these technologies, not so much. To attempt to fill this gap, members of the Kretsloppsteknik group collaborated with researchers at VIT University, to explore what food consumers in India think of urine recycling. The results were recently published in the journal Water Research, where a survey of 1252 consumers at the VIT University campus revealed: 68% stated human urine should not be disposed but recycled, 55% considered it as fertiliser, but only 44% would consume food grown using it. 
The Market for Biochar in Sweden
Stockholm Exergi and Waste Sweden has conducted a study to investigate the market for biochar and specifically the willingness to pay within five industrial applications: biochar as soil improvers, biochar filling material in concrete, biochar in agriculture, biochar as filter material for water and wastewater, and biochar as additive to animal feed.
Sahar Dalahmeh (Environmental technology group – Institute for Energy and Technology) and Mikael Pell (Department of Molecular Sciences) participated in the study and contributed with their knowledge regarding the market for biochar as a filter material for water and sewage treatment. Click here to access the press release and summary where the report can also be downloaded from: https://www.avfallsverige.se/kunskapsbanken/rapporter/rapportera/?tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=2583&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&cHash=68ee39223998ccc35409d625c9eaf41a
Nigerian visit to the fly larvae lab
On Thurday, June 28th, we had the honour to show our research activities to a Nigierian delegation, including the Nigeria ambassador to Sweden, H.E. Musa Ilu Mohammed and the Govenour of Borno, H.E. Hon. Kashim Shettima, who were visiting SLU. Björn was presenting our visions for future solid waste management, using fly larvae composting to recycle the food waste and decrease the amount of landfilling. Additionally we visited the fly larvae lab where Victoria and Giulio presented the processes in fly larvae composting and the different stages of the insects. 
PC: Giulio Zorzetto
PC: Emelie Zonabend König
Capacity of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal
The report “Capacity of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal” is now published at Havs- och vatten myndigheten website. Capacity of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal”. In this report, Sahar Dalahmeh, researcher in the environmental technology group, has compiled her projects results on the capacity of impregnated biochar filters and two stage biochar filters for removal of phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater in small and onsite wastewater systems.
With funding from the Havs- och vattenmyndigheten- Sweden, Sahar Dalahmeh carried out and reported the project “Biochar for small and onsite wastewater treatment”. The project aimed at developing biochar as filter material to improve the treatment of wastewater in small and individual sewers. The project showed that lime and iron impregnation of biochar improved its ability to bind phosphorus, which means that it fits well as filter material in small sewage plants. In order not to saturate the material, impregnated biochar filters should be used as a separate filter module for phosphorous purification after main purification (where organic matter and ammonium are purified from sewage).
Two-step biochar filter with vertical flow followed by horizontal flow was effective to reduce organic material and had promising performance for total nitrogen reduction. However, the design of the filter system needs to be investigated and optimized.
To read more, please follow the following link. https://www.havochvatten.se/download/18.4c271c50163bf560e38d56e1/1528791738532/rapport-slu-biokol-i-sma-avloppsanlaggningar.pdf
Contact Sahar Dalahmeh
Post published by Prithvi Simha
Teaching at the UN-IHE
Close to midsummer, Björn Vinnerås was in Delft teaching students from the new MSc program in Sanitation at the UN-IHE. The lectures were in the module of “Sanitation Technology” talking about pathogens and hygienisation technologies. Lectures ended up discussing four case studies on how to manage a recycling sanitation system without spreading any diseases. A really inspiring group of students eager to learn and discuss this topic. They will be a good resource in the future of on-site sanitation and reuse of plant nutrients.
The new MSc program in Sanitation at UN-IHE, Delft PC: Shirish Singh
One year meeting of the EU-program Run4Life in Helsingborg
The one year meeting was hosted by the wastewater organisation of Helsingborg NSVA, who showed the exiting plans for the new development of central Helsingborg H+ and their visions for sustainable wastewater management in Recolab. The meeting was very fruitful, looking into what was achieved during last year and the planning of the coming year, including trying to fit in field trials of the new wastewater based fertiliser substrates that will be produced in the project. SLU representatives Björn Vinnerås & Annika Nordin.
New publication on the drying of ion-exchanged human urine
In a recent study published in Water Research, members of the Kretsloppsteknik group investigated the possibility of alkalising human urine by anion-exchange and dehydrating urine into a dry fertiliser powder.
Fresh urine was passed through an ion-exchanger, stabilised by alkalisation (pH >10), added to an alkaline media (wood ash/alkalised biochar) and dehydrated
Simha, P., Senecal, J., Nordin, A., Lalander, C., Vinnerås, B., 2018. Alkaline dehydration of anion–exchanged human urine: Volume reduction, nutrient recovery and process optimisation, Water Research. In Press. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.06.001.