This research transforms human urine into sustainable fertilizer using solar-powered systems that recover nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. By turning toilets into decentralized fertilizer factories, the approach improves sanitation, reduces reliance on energy-intensive production, and provides affordable fertilizers to underserved farmers, supporting both environmental sustainability and economic development.
This research addresses rural water scarcity in Colombia by developing a household treatment system combining filtration and solar disinfection. Using engineering models, it optimizes flow, pathogen inactivation, and sunlight exposure to ensure reliability. The approach delivers safe, simple, and sustainable water access, reducing disease and improving quality of life in underserved communities.
This research reinvents wastewater treatment by adapting circulating fluidized bed reactors—normally used in petrochemicals—to grow bacteria on small surfaces and efficiently remove waste. Mobile, trailer-mounted reactors provide high-performance treatment without large facilities, making them ideal for dense cities, remote communities, and overburdened systems.