Evaluating ion exchange for nitrogen recovery from source-separated urine in Nairobi, Kenya

Q1 Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Development Engineering Pub Date : 2018-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.deveng.2018.07.002

William A. Tarpeh , Ileana Wald , Michael Otieno Omollo , Timothy Egan , Kara L. Nelson

{"title":"Evaluating ion exchange for nitrogen recovery from source-separated urine in Nairobi, Kenya","authors":"William A. Tarpeh , Ileana Wald , Michael Otieno Omollo , Timothy Egan , Kara L. Nelson","doi":"10.1016/j.deveng.2018.07.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Rapid population growth in developing world urban centers outpaces provision of essential services such as excreta collection and treatment. Separate collection of urine and feces and decentralized treatment can potentially serve more households at lower energy and cost than conventional waterborne sewers and treatment plants. We conducted a technical validation and preliminary economic modeling to evaluate ion exchange columns, one technical option for recovering nitrogen from urine in Nairobi, Kenya. This technology could be combined with phosphorus recovery and a disinfection step to allow local discharge of the treated urine. Performance, as measured by adsorption density (4.02–4.21 mmol N/g resin) and regeneration efficiency (>90%) of the adsorbent, was consistent over ten adsorption-regeneration cycles and with columns ten times larger than lab-scale (65 L/d vs. 6.5 L/d). Effluent absorbance and electrical conductivity were identified as indicators of urine and ammonia breakthrough, respectively; both parameters are lower cost and easier to measure on-line than ammonium concentrations. Urine storage containers should be closed to avoid changes in urine composition, including loss of ammonia (and thus potential revenue). Treatment of urine by ion exchange is 40% less expensive than disposal without treatment and urine-derived ammonium sulfate was produced well below market costs of commercial fertilizers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37901,"journal":{"name":"Development Engineering","volume":"3 ","pages":"Pages 188-195"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1016/j.deveng.2018.07.002","citationCount":"27","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Development Engineering","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235272851730074X","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Economics, Econometrics and Finance","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 27

Abstract

Rapid population growth in developing world urban centers outpaces provision of essential services such as excreta collection and treatment. Separate collection of urine and feces and decentralized treatment can potentially serve more households at lower energy and cost than conventional waterborne sewers and treatment plants. We conducted a technical validation and preliminary economic modeling to evaluate ion exchange columns, one technical option for recovering nitrogen from urine in Nairobi, Kenya. This technology could be combined with phosphorus recovery and a disinfection step to allow local discharge of the treated urine. Performance, as measured by adsorption density (4.02–4.21 mmol N/g resin) and regeneration efficiency (>90%) of the adsorbent, was consistent over ten adsorption-regeneration cycles and with columns ten times larger than lab-scale (65 L/d vs. 6.5 L/d). Effluent absorbance and electrical conductivity were identified as indicators of urine and ammonia breakthrough, respectively; both parameters are lower cost and easier to measure on-line than ammonium concentrations. Urine storage containers should be closed to avoid changes in urine composition, including loss of ammonia (and thus potential revenue). Treatment of urine by ion exchange is 40% less expensive than disposal without treatment and urine-derived ammonium sulfate was produced well below market costs of commercial fertilizers.

查看原文本刊更多论文

评价离子交换对肯尼亚内罗毕源分离尿液中氮回收的影响

发展中国家城市中心人口的快速增长超过了排泄物收集和处理等基本服务的提供。与传统的水运下水道和处理厂相比，单独收集尿液和粪便和分散处理可能以更低的能源和成本为更多的家庭提供服务。我们进行了技术验证和初步经济模型来评估离子交换柱，这是肯尼亚内罗毕从尿液中回收氮的一种技术选择。这项技术可以与磷回收和消毒步骤相结合，允许局部排放处理后的尿液。通过吸附密度(4.02-4.21 mmol N/g树脂)和再生效率(>90%)来测量吸附剂的性能，在10次吸附-再生循环中是一致的，并且柱比实验室规模大10倍(65 L/d vs. 6.5 L/d)。出水吸光度和电导率分别被确定为尿和氨突破的指标;这两个参数都比氨浓度成本更低，更容易在线测量。尿液储存容器应关闭，以避免尿液成分的变化，包括氨的损失(从而潜在的收入)。用离子交换法处理尿液比不处理的成本低40%，而且尿衍生硫酸铵的生产成本远低于商业肥料的市场成本。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Development Engineering Economics, Econometrics and Finance-Economics, Econometrics and Finance (all)

CiteScore

4.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

31 weeks

期刊介绍： Development Engineering: The Journal of Engineering in Economic Development (Dev Eng) is an open access, interdisciplinary journal applying engineering and economic research to the problems of poverty. Published studies must present novel research motivated by a specific global development problem. The journal serves as a bridge between engineers, economists, and other scientists involved in research on human, social, and economic development. Specific topics include: • Engineering research in response to unique constraints imposed by poverty. • Assessment of pro-poor technology solutions, including field performance, consumer adoption, and end-user impacts. • Novel technologies or tools for measuring behavioral, economic, and social outcomes in low-resource settings. • Hypothesis-generating research that explores technology markets and the role of innovation in economic development. • Lessons from the field, especially null results from field trials and technical failure analyses. • Rigorous analysis of existing development "solutions" through an engineering or economic lens. Although the journal focuses on quantitative, scientific approaches, it is intended to be suitable for a wider audience of development practitioners and policy makers, with evidence that can be used to improve decision-making. It also will be useful for engineering and applied economics faculty who conduct research or teach in "technology for development."