Can a circular economy ease Thailand’s trash woes? This startup thinks so

Two to three carrots Manufacturer Laufen supplied two special toilets that separate the urine from the flushing water and the faeces. Conthe coupled these together with a waterless urinal to a bioreactor and a vacuum evaporator to recover various valuable nutrients plus high-quality water using a process of nitrification and distillation. Besides phosphorus, the plant also recovers nitrogen and small amounts of potassium and boron. Harmful substances such as drug residues and hormones are in principle removed during the process. “The plant can handle 30 litres of urine a day”, she explains, “that’s enough to deliver around 10g of phosphorus. Next to the container we have a small greenhouse where we use the recovered nutrients to feed various crops. This enables us to also study what effects different proportions of fertilisers have on different food crops.” In this way the urine of city dwellers can be used right away and on location to grow fruit and vegetables that the same city dwellers eat and then re-excrete…. and with the least possible burden on the environment. The result: a safe, small-scale recycling system that helps make cities circular. According to Conthe’s calculations, one pee provides enough nutrients to grow two to three carrots. “Scaling up this demonstrated process will enable us to go some way to meeting urban food needs. For example using forms of urban farming.”

The Emission and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels (ECLIF3) study, an effort involving Airbus, Rolls-Royce, German research centre DLR and Finnish SAF producer Neste, marks the first time 100 per cent SAF has been measured simultaneously on both engines of a commercial passenger aircraft – an Airbus A350 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. According to Airbus, in-flight emissions tests and associated ground testing on the ECLIF3 programme began earlier this year and have recently resumed. The interdisciplinary team, including researchers from the National Research Council of Canada and Manchester University, will publish its results in academic journals towards the end of next year and 2023.