IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i8p4218-d533652.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Appraisal of Urine Derivatives Integrated in the Nitrogen and Phosphorus Inputs of a Lettuce Soilless Cultivation System

Author

Listed:
  • Christophe El-Nakhel

    (Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
    Horticell Lab, Department of Plants and Crops, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Danny Geelen

    (Horticell Lab, Department of Plants and Crops, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Jolien De Paepe

    (Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Peter Clauwaert

    (Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Stefania De Pascale

    (Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy)

  • Youssef Rouphael

    (Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy)

Abstract

Reinforcing and optimizing sustainable food production is an urgent contemporary issue. The depletion of natural mineral resources is a key problem that is addressed by recycling mined potassium and phosphorus, and nitrogen, whose production depends on very high energy input. A closed-loop approach of fertilizer use asserts the necessity for efficient management and practices of organic waste rich in minerals. Human-derived urine is an underutilized yet excellent source for nitrogen fertilizer, and, in this study, processed urine fertilizer was applied to greenhouse soilless cultivation of lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.) cv. Grand Rapids. Biomass increase, biometric parameters, soil plant analysis development (SPAD) index, minerals, and organic acids content of lettuce were analyzed. From eight different urine fertilizer products generated, K-struvite, urine precipitate-CaO, and the liquid electrodialysis (ED) concentrate supported the growth of lettuce similar to that of commercial mineral fertilizer. ED concentrate application led to the accumulation of potassium (+17.2%), calcium (+82.9%), malate (+185.3%), citrate (+114.4%), and isocitrate (+185.7%); K-struvite augmented the accumulation of magnesium (+44.9%); and urine precipitate-CaO induced the highest accumulation of calcium (+100.5%) when compared to the control, which is an added value when supplemented in daily diet. The results underlined the potential of nitrogen- and phosphate-rich human urine as a sustainable source for the fertilization of lettuce in soilless systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Christophe El-Nakhel & Danny Geelen & Jolien De Paepe & Peter Clauwaert & Stefania De Pascale & Youssef Rouphael, 2021. "An Appraisal of Urine Derivatives Integrated in the Nitrogen and Phosphorus Inputs of a Lettuce Soilless Cultivation System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-13, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4218-:d:533652
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4218/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4218/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefano Freguia & Maddalena E. Logrieco & Juliette Monetti & Pablo Ledezma & Bernardino Virdis & Seiya Tsujimura, 2019. "Self-Powered Bioelectrochemical Nutrient Recovery for Fertilizer Generation from Human Urine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-10, October.
    2. Alexandra Jurgilevich & Traci Birge & Johanna Kentala-Lehtonen & Kaisa Korhonen-Kurki & Janna Pietikäinen & Laura Saikku & Hanna Schösler, 2016. "Transition towards Circular Economy in the Food System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Grace L. Douglas & Raymond M. Wheeler & Ralph F. Fritsche, 2021. "Sustaining Astronauts: Resource Limitations, Technology Needs, and Parallels between Spaceflight Food Systems and those on Earth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-13, August.
    2. Işık Kabdaşlı & Alessio Siciliano & Carlo Limonti & Olcay Tünay, 2022. "Is K-Struvite Precipitation a Plausible Nutrient Recovery Method from Potassium-Containing Wastes?—A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-35, September.
    3. Mareike Mauerer & Thorsten Rocksch & Dennis Dannehl & Ingo Schuch & Inga Mewis & Nadja Förster & Christian Ulrichs & Uwe Schmidt, 2023. "Replacing Mineral Fertilizer with Nitrified Human Urine in Hydroponic Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.) Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-13, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mechthild Donner & Anne Verniquet & Jan Broeze & Katrin Kayser & Hugo de Vries, 2021. "Critical success and risk factors for circular business models valorising agricultural waste and by-products," Post-Print hal-03004851, HAL.
    2. Federico Cuomo & Stefania Ravazzi & Federico Savini & Luca Bertolini, 2020. "Transformative Urban Living Labs: Towards a Circular Economy in Amsterdam and Turin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    3. Marianne Ryghaug & Michael Ornetzeder & Tomas Moe Skjølsvold & William Throndsen, 2019. "The Role of Experiments and Demonstration Projects in Efforts of Upscaling: An Analysis of Two Projects Attempting to Reconfigure Production and Consumption in Energy and Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-15, October.
    4. Henrik Haller & Anna-Sara Fagerholm & Peter Carlsson & Wilhelm Skoglund & Paul van den Brink & Itai Danielski & Kristina Brink & Murat Mirata & Oskar Englund, 2022. "Towards a Resilient and Resource-Efficient Local Food System Based on Industrial Symbiosis in Härnösand: A Swedish Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Priyadarshi Maurya & Mrinalini Goswami & Sunil Nautiyal & Satya Prakash & Anil Kumar Gupta & A Sathish, 2024. "Resource Flow in Peri-urban Agroecosystem: an Assessment from Circular Economy Perspective," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 1093-1114, June.
    6. Aida Hosseinian & Jenni Ylä-Mella & Eva Pongrácz, 2021. "Current Status of Circular Economy Research in Finland," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, April.
    7. Catarina Lourenço-Lopes & Maria Fraga-Corral & Cecilia Jimenez-Lopez & Antia G. Pereira & Paula Garcia-Oliveira & Maria Carpena & Miguel A. Prieto & Jesus Simal-Gandara, 2020. "Metabolites from Macroalgae and Its Applications in the Cosmetic Industry: A Circular Economy Approach," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-30, August.
    8. Ali Saeed Almuflih & Janpriy Sharma & Mohit Tyagi & Arvind Bhardwaj & Mohamed Rafik Noor Mohamed Qureshi & Nawaf Khan, 2022. "Leveraging the Dynamics of Food Supply Chains towards Avenues of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-15, June.
    9. Jingsi Xiao & Ulrike Alewell & Ingo Bruch & Heidrun Steinmetz, 2021. "Development of a Self-Sustaining Wastewater Treatment with Phosphorus Recovery for Small Rural Settlements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-12, January.
    10. Gonzalez-Martinez, Ana Rosa & Jongeneel, Roel & Kros, Hans & Lesschen, Jan Peter & de Vries, Marion & Reijs, Joan & Verhoog, David, 2021. "Aligning agricultural production and environmental regulation: An integrated assessment of the Netherlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    11. Lucas Becerra & Sebastián Carenzo & Paula Juarez, 2020. "When Circular Economy Meets Inclusive Development. Insights from Urban Recycling and Rural Water Access in Argentina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-21, November.
    12. Do, Quynh & Mishra, Nishikant & Colicchia, Claudia & Creazza, Alessandro & Ramudhin, Amar, 2022. "An extended institutional theory perspective on the adoption of circular economy practices: Insights from the seafood industry," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    13. Sara Moggi & Sabrina Bonomi & Francesca Ricciardi, 2018. "Against Food Waste: CSR for the Social and Environmental Impact through a Network-Based Organizational Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, September.
    14. Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica & Stangherlin, Isadora Do Carmo, 2021. "Upcycled by-product use in agri-food systems from a consumer perspective: A review of what we know, and what is missing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    15. Arru, Brunella & Furesi, Roberto & Pulina, Pietro & Sau, Paola & Madau, Fabio A., 2022. "The Circular Economy in the Agri-food system: A Performance Measurement of European Countries," Economia agro-alimentare / Food Economy, Italian Society of Agri-food Economics/Società Italiana di Economia Agro-Alimentare (SIEA), vol. 24(2), September.
    16. Janet Music & Sylvain Charlebois & Louise Spiteri & Shannon Farrell & Alysha Griffin, 2021. "Increases in Household Food Waste in Canada as a Result of COVID-19: An Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-11, November.
    17. Chenyujing Yang & Yuanyuan Zhang & Yanjin Xue & Yongji Xue, 2022. "Toward a Socio-Political Approach to Promote the Development of Circular Agriculture: A Critical Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-18, October.
    18. Yamna Erraach & Fatma Jaafer & Ivana Radić & Mechthild Donner, 2021. "Sustainability Labels on Olive Oil: A Review on Consumer Attitudes and Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-23, November.
    19. Haniyeh Shariatmadary & Sabine O’Hara & Rebecca Graham & Marian Stuiver, 2023. "Are Food Hubs Sustainable? An Analysis of Social and Environmental Objectives of U.S. Food Hubs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    20. Gesa Henriette Marken & Jacob Hörisch, 2019. "Purchasing unpackaged food products [Der Einkauf unverpackter Lebensmittel]," Sustainability Nexus Forum, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 165-175, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4218-:d:533652. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.