[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Composting toilets URINE SEPARATION

[John Salmen]

Nitrate contamination from urine is a major problem. Composting toilets are
of no benefit and can worsen some situations unless urine is dealt with in a
conscientious way. 

I designed a public composting toilet with a small leach field for urine but
considered that a useless compromise. The only successful system I've
designed was a closed system where the liquid is drained and circulated back
over the composting feces and amendments. Aeration of the liquid over the
mass provides significant denitrification and some evaporation. The
recirculation is a small handpump lever that is used on a regular basis. 

The pump could be used to drain liquid off but in this installation after
about 8 years the liquid has not reached any significant level and is being
evaporated or consumed in some biological process.

John


TERRAIN E.D.S.
4465 UPHILL RD
DUNCAN BC
CAN V9L 6M7
PH 250-748-7672  FAX 250-748-7612 CELL 250-246-8541
terrain at shaw.ca 

I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that
they required to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all
undusted still, and threw them out the window in disgust --Henry David
Thoreau

-----Original Message-----
From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Norbert Senf
Sent: December 23, 2006 2:23 PM
To: GREENBUILDING at listserv.repp.org
Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] [BULK] Composting toilets URINE SEPARATION

At 10:21 AM 12/23/2006 -0500, YankeePerm at aol.com wrote:

>OK, the third reason to separate urine from the solids (snip)

New Scientist is running an interesting current article on this:
http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19225831.600-peecycling.
html

 From the intro:

"You recycle your household waste. You buy 
locally grown food, fit low-energy light bulbs 
and try not to use the car unnecessarily. Maybe 
you even irrigate the garden with your bath 
water. But you've still got an environmental 
monster in your house. Your toilet is wrecking the planet.

Before you point to the brick you've put in the 
cistern, it's not about the water - well, not 
entirely. The big problem is pee. Your pee. Do 
you flush it away without a second thought? Tsk, tsk. Lose the green halo.

At first sight urine looks like an unlikely 
environmental menace. What harm could come from 
flushing away a fluid that is mostly water, plus 
a smidge of proteins and salts? Surprisingly, the answer is "a lot"."


-------------------------------------------
Norbert Senf---------- mheat(at)heatkit.com
Masonry Stove Builders
25 Brouse Rd.
RR 5, Shawville------- www.heatkit.com
Québec J0X 2Y0-------- fax:-----819.647.6082
---------------------- voice:---819.647.5092






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