Experiments on struvite precipitation, application and economic analysis in Arba Minch, Ehtiopia : a paper presented at the second conference on dev...

Source-separated urine from UDDTs (Urine-Diversion Dry Toilets) is a potential source of nutrients so as to be used as a substituent of commercial fertilizer. However, collection, storage and transportation of urine are significant problems in Arba Minch. To counteract the arising problem to deal with urine used for closing the loop of sanitation products and agriculture, struvite precipitation is proposed to be a good solution. EAWAG's experiences in Nepal, revealed that fresh and stored urine quality is significantly different i.e. urine hygenization leads to considerable nutrient loss. Moreover, depletion of phosphorus which potentially leads to global phosphorus insecurity should be addressed by proper nutrient recycling technological option. The aim of the experiments in Arba Minch is to test EAWAG's experiences under Ethiopian conditions. Running the field experiment is very essential for Arba Minch because of the availability of UDDTs in the town which offers the possibility to check the production potential of struvite as well as its application in three different possible ways. Additionally, an economic analysis will be completed in order to check the economic feasibility of the struvite in local conditions. [authors abstract]