Taking the P: University of Surrey to extract key chemical from human urine
They believe it could help address a shortage of phosphorous, which is used in fertilisers.
Last updated 18th Jul 2024
Scientists at the University of Surrey are extracting a crucial mineral from urine, which they believe could help solve a global problem.
They say that we could run out of phosphate rock, which contains phosphorous that is often used for fertilisers, within 50-100 years.
Scientists will collect 15 litres of urine from volunteers at toilets across the University’s Guildford campus.
The study is expected to last until summer 2025.
Scientists will extract phosphorus by passing the urine through a special membrane, allowing the water to pass through while leaving the phosphorus on the other side. This energy-efficient process is called forward osmosis.
Although urine is already used as a fertiliser in some rural communities, it is inefficient and costly to transport, because it is made of 97% water. For that reason, concentrating the urine using this technique could be more effective.
"Getting phosphorus from urine could be a simple, cheap alternative"
The researchers will study how efficiently the membrane extracts phosphorus.
They will also investigate how best to prevent the urine from fouling the membrane and clogging up its pores.
Maano Tshimange, Researcher at Surrey’s School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, said:
"Phosphorous is available in few countries, especially the reserves. So most of the countries have to buy from those few countries.
"Urine contains a lot of nutrients, so we want to separate urine in toilets. If we can separate urine and then treat it directly instead of treating it with other things that we've found in the sewage water system. That way, lots of sewage treatment systems can save lots of money."
“Getting phosphorus from urine could be a simple, cheap alternative. And let’s face it, there’s so much of it available that we'll never be caught short. Human urine alone could provide as much as 11% of the world’s phosphorus needs.”