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Separating urine from sewage could mitigate some environmental problems

nature.com

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Re: Separating urine from sewage could mitigate some environmental problems

#31

Post by bryanlarsen »

mschuster91 wrote: post #15

> That’s in part because urine is rich in nutrients that, instead of polluting water bodies, could go towards fertilizing crops or feed into industrial processes. Huh? We're already producing way too much fertilizer from farm animals, which leads to the situation that countries like the Netherlands [1] and Germany [2] experience a massive oversupply of dung that has to be shipped sometimes hundreds of kilometers beca…

> has to be shipped sometimes hundreds of kilometers

That's not very far, we used to ship guano halfway around the world. We don't produce near enough manure to fertilize all of our fields. Certainly we should use the manure we do produce, but it certainly isn't close to enough.

Re: Separating urine from sewage could mitigate some environmental problems

#32

Post by dumbfounder »

hiptobecubic wrote: post #23
mschuster91 wrote: post #15

> That’s in part because urine is rich in nutrients that, instead of polluting water bodies, could go towards fertilizing crops or feed into industrial processes. Huh? We're already producing way too much fertilizer from farm animals, which leads to the situation that countries like the Netherlands [1] and Germany [2] experience a massive oversupply of dung that has to be shipped sometimes hundreds of kilometers beca…

We could also stop producing so much dung...

You jest, but I have thought about this. If we all take fiber pills and probiotics will that reduce waste, and also toilet paper consumption? Should we be introducing these things into the water supply like fluoride? (the answer is no, but would be an interesting exercise to see what impact it could have)

Re: Separating urine from sewage could mitigate some environmental problems

#34

Post by hetspookjee »

mschuster91 wrote: post #15

> That’s in part because urine is rich in nutrients that, instead of polluting water bodies, could go towards fertilizing crops or feed into industrial processes. Huh? We're already producing way too much fertilizer from farm animals, which leads to the situation that countries like the Netherlands [1] and Germany [2] experience a massive oversupply of dung that has to be shipped sometimes hundreds of kilometers beca…

The complete insane thing from the Netherlands is is that almost 25% of the drilled up gas beneath Groningen, and is causing earthquakes on a regular basis, is actually used to create fertiliser from. As far as I understand that is done because the yield from synthetic fertiliser is higher than from animal dung so unless I’m missing something we’re actually trying to get rid of a lot of the dung by exporting it as well. Though I’m not entirely sure what happens with all the excess dung. I believe most of the organic dung is not yielding enough to be economically feasible and thus gets exported.

Re: Separating urine from sewage could mitigate some environmental problems

#36

Post by tazjin »

dumbfounder wrote: post #32
hiptobecubic wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We could also stop producing so much dung...

You jest, but I have thought about this. If we all take fiber pills and probiotics will that reduce waste, and also toilet paper consumption? Should we be introducing these things into the water supply like fluoride? (the answer is no, but would be an interesting exercise to see what impact it could have)

> Should we be introducing these things into the water supply like fluoride?

Absolutely not. Not all types of diets need fiber for your digestive system to function properly.

Re: Separating urine from sewage could mitigate some environmental problems

#38

Post by howLongHowLong »

toraway1234 wrote: post #25

Quoted post unavailable.

Neither will you read the article, which is certainly not about water reclamation. (Other than the water saved by peeing into freshwater less.) Surely if it seems natural not to shit where we eat, it's reasonable to think about strategies not to piss where we drink - you seem eager enough to keep the two separate.

Re: Separating urine from sewage could mitigate some environmental problems

#39

Post by pie42000 »

cute_boi wrote: post #37
toraway1234 wrote: post #25

Quoted post unavailable.

This is me to be honest. There are so many things we can do, but it seems we are focusing on thing that may only have superficial benefits.

This is by design. Paper straws are meant to distract your limited focus from things that actually matter.
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