In the sector of wastewater management and sustainable sanitation, the practice of urine separation and valorisation can offer reuse water and nutrients for crop production. However, the effective realization of urine separation necessitates the concurrent development of urine treatment systems. While membrane filtration techniques have been employed to concentrate urine, these options are unable to concentrate urine beyond a certain threshold. This limitation underscores the imperative of exploring alternative approaches, such as evaporation, for further urine concentration. Nonetheless, the evaporation process presents an energy demand, so it is therefore imperative to consider the development of an evaporator that is designed based on urine characteristics and to be the most efficient possible to reduce the operating costs.
This project focuses in developing and validating a cost-effective urine evaporator proof-of-concept tailored for decentralized urine systems that could be applied in two distinct scenarios: re-engineered toilets and decentralised treatment plants. The project investigates two distinct types of urine to ensure a comprehensive assessment: hydrolysed stored urine and urine treated with lime (calcium hydroxide) for its stabilisation avoiding urea hydrolysis. The project is conducted at the Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Research & Development (R&D) Centre, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and involves collaborative efforts with other institutions.

Bibliographic information

Santiago Septien Stringel, Kirthi Rampersad, Brent Yelland, Talente Mthembu, Nikhil Pillay, Alexis Coppejans, Glen Snedden, Jonathan Pocock (2024). Development of an urine evaporation solution for innovative re-engineered sanitation systems Water Research Commission

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