Sanitation Technologies of the Future

Published

Farewell Seminar HÄkan Jönsson!
Sanitation Technologies of the Future
25 October 2017 at 13:00
Location: Hörsal V Ulls hus SLU
There will be a possibility to follow the seminar on the web.

To honour HĂ„kan Jönsson who will retire during 2017 we are organising a Farwell symposium the 25th of October, between 1:00 and 5:30 pm. The title of the symposium is “Sanitation Technologies of the Future”.
Both Swedish and international experts will present their visions about the future in sanitation (a detailed schedule will be presented the coming week).

Kindly spread the invitation to those interested.

Torrt gödselmedel frÄn urin

Published

Att sĂ€ga “vi Ă€r vad vi Ă€ter” Ă€r bara en del av sanningen. Vad vi utsöndrar vad vi Ă€ter Ă€r den andra delen av sanningen nĂ€r det gĂ€ller vĂ€xtnĂ€ringsĂ€mnen. MĂ€nsklig avföring innehĂ„ller samma kvĂ€ve, fosfor och kalium (N-P-K) som vi finner i gödningsmedel som anvĂ€nds för att producera den mat som vi sedan Ă€ter (Winker et al., 2009). MĂ€nsklig avföring ses oftast som ett oönskat avfall vĂ€rlden över, vilket skapar humanitĂ€ra och miljömĂ€ssiga problem (Baum et al., 2013). För att ersĂ€tta nĂ€ringsĂ€mnena som tagits bort med skörden frĂ„n fĂ€lten tillverkas gödningsmedel i industriella processer som bidrar till miljöförĂ€ndringar pĂ„ global nivĂ„ (Rockström et al., 2009). Återvinning av mĂ€nsklig avföring tillbaka till lantbruket skulle minska det nuvarande beroendet av gödselmedel frĂ„n fossila kĂ€llor (RamĂ­rez & Worrell, 2006).

Återföringen skulle dessutom förbĂ€ttra avkastningen i t.ex. Afrika söder om Sahara, dĂ€r gödselanvĂ€ndningen Ă€r lĂ„g (FAO, 2015) och skydda marina ekosystem i Östersjön genom att begrĂ€nsa flödet av överskott av nĂ€ringsĂ€mnen till ytvatten (Rockström et al., 2009).

Dry fertiliser from urine

Published

The saying ‘we are what we eat’ is only part of the story. What we eat is what we excrete, and this means plant nutrients. Human excreta contain the same nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N-P-K) as the fertilisers used to produce the food consumed (Winker et al., 2009). However, human excreta are considered unwanted waste throughout the world, creating humanitarian and environmental problems (Baum et al., 2013). In order to replace the nutrients removed from the fields during harvesting, more fertilisers are manufactured in industrial processes that are contributing to environmental changes at global level (Rockström et al., 2009). Recycling human excreta back to agricultural fields would reduce the current dependence on fossil fuel-derived fertilisers (RamĂ­rez & Worrell, 2006). It would also improve crop yields in e.g. sub-Saharan Africa, where fertiliser application is low (FAO, 2015), and protect marine ecosystems in the Baltic Sea by limiting the flow of excess nutrients to surface waters (Rockström et al., 2009).

The Road to Large-scale Implementation of Source-separation?

Published

Within our research group we are working with several methods for returning nutrients from food and wastewater to agriculture. Source separation of waste flows can make for simpler treatment and higher quality of the recovered products. However, the use of source separation systems is far from wide spread. Trying to understand why this is the case and what can be done to increase source separation is also part of our research focus. And we are not alone in looking for opportunities to transition our waste systems into something more sustainable. A recent popular science article in the magasin Extrakt, sponsored by the Swedish Research Council Formas, featured an interview with Jennifer McConville on what is needed to implement these systems at a large scale.

Öppet [vĂ€xt]hus

Published

Foto: Anna Simonsson

Den 16 maj kl 13-16 har vi öppet hus i vÄr fluglarvskomposteringsanlÀggning pÄ SLU Ultuna campus i Uppsala. Vi kommer dÄ att visa vÄr anlÀggning för uppfödning av flugor och larver. Vi kommer Àven visa hur lÄngt vi kommit i uppskalningen av behandlingsmodulen som konstrueras i samarbete med Eskilstuna StrÀngnÀs Energi och Miljö för behandling av ett ton avfall per dag som planeras vara fÀrdig i september i Är.

Vad tycker sydindiska bönder om att anvÀnda mÀnsklig urin som gödningsmedel?

Published

Teknologiska framsteg inom sanitetssektorn har möjliggjort sĂ€ker Ă„terföring av mĂ€nskligt avfall till jordbruket för anvĂ€ndning som gödningsmedel. From ett socialvetenskapligt perspektiv leder dessa framsteg till en rad nya frĂ„gor: Är bönder beredda att anvĂ€nda sĂ„dana typer av gödningsmedel? Hur uppfattar bönderna dessa typer av gödningsmedel – som avfall eller resurs? Vilka faktorer pĂ„verkar dessa uppfattningar och pĂ„följande attityd till denna typ av praxis?Foto: Feng Zhong (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

What do farmers in South India think of human urine as a fertiliser?

Published

Technological advances in the sanitation sector have made it feasible to safely recycle human wastes to agricultural areas to use as fertilisers. From a social science perspective, these developments open up a new array of questions: for instance, are farmers be willing to handle and use such fertilisers? How do farmers perceive such materials – as wastes or valuable products? What factors shape these perceptions and subsequent attitudes towards these practices?Foto: Feng Zhong (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)