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1 s2.0 S0011916420313126 mmc1
1 s2.0 S0011916420313126 mmc1
R.E.F., Lindeboom1,2, J., De Paepe1, M., Vanoppen3, B., Alonso-Fariñas1,4, W., Coessens1,
A., Alloul1,8, M.E.R., Christiaens1, C., Dotremont5, H., Beckers5, B., Lamaze6, D., Demey7,
P., Clauwaert1, A.R.D., Verliefde3 & S.E., Vlaeminck1,8
1
Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University,
Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
2
Section Sanitary Engineering, Department of Water Management, Faculty of Civil Engineering and
Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628CN, Delft, The Netherlands
3
Particle and Interfacial Technology Group (PaInT), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University,
Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
4
Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Ambiental, Universidad de Sevilla, Higher Technical School of
Engineering, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, 41092, Seville, Spain
5
VITO, Boeretang 2, 2400 Mol, Belgium
6
ESA/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
7
QinetiQ Space, Hogenakkerhoekstraat 9, 9150 Kruibeke, Belgium
8
Research Group of Sustainable Air, Energy and Water Technology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan
171, 2020 Antwerpen, Belgium
S1
Supplemental File A: Details on urine and shower water collection and
reactor setup
Figure A.1: (A) Urine collection setup placed in the men’s room and (B) Shower setup
integrated into the WTUB facility.
S2
Figure A.2: Crystallization reactor, as part of the urine treatment unit (UTU)
A: magnetic stirring and heating plate (MR Hei-Tec, Heidolf®, Schwabach, Germany)
B: level sensor (BC10-QF5,5-AP6X2, Turck, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany)
C: pH sensor (pH electrode 5334T w/ Pt1000, Hach, CO, USA)
D: temperature sensor
E: influent inlet
F: NaOH dosage with electromagnetic metering pump (EWN-B11 CER, Iwaki Co, Ltd.,
Tokyo, Japan (not shown))
G: filter basket with glass fiber cloth
H: filter (Kleenpak KA3J100P6 (10 µm), Pall Corporation, NY, USA)
I: filter (Kleenpak KA3NFP6S (0.2 µm), Pall Corporation, NY, USA)
J: dead-end filter basket with electrical conductivity probe (Cond cell 5396, Hach, CO, USA)
K: sample point
L: recycle and feed pump (Model 323E/D, Watson Marlow, MA, USA)
S3
Figure A.3: Nitrification bioreactor of the urine treatment unit (UTU)
A: bioreactor with polyvinyl alcohol beads (Kuraray Aqua Co, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan)
B: pH sensor (Polymetron 8350 series, Hach, CO, USA)
C: influent inlet (effluent of precipitation reactor)
D: NaOH dosage with electromagnetic metering pump (EWN-B11 CER, Iwaki Co, Ltd.,
Tokyo, Japan (not shown))
E: sample point
F: recirculation pump (Peristaltic pump AMP Series, Boyser pumps®, Barcelona, Spain)
G: compressor aerator (KNF N035AN.18, KNF, Freiburg, Germany)
H: EC sensor (Cond cell 5396, Hach, CO, USA) in recirculation loop
I: ultrafiltration (UF) membrane module (type 1/6, ATech-Innovations GmbH, Gladbeck,
Germany)
J: bypass
K: filtration pump (120U/D1, Watson Marlow, MA, USA)
L: pressure relief valve (V185, Frank GmbH, Hessen, Germany)
M: mass flow meter and controller (LIQUI-FLOW, Bronkhorst®, Ruurlo, The Netherlands)
N: sample point UF filtrate
S4
Figure A.4. Electrodialysis unit in the urine treatment unit (UTU)
A: ED stack (PCCell ED 64004, PCA GmbH, Heusweiler, Germany)
B: power supply (Type ES300, Delta elektronika BV, Zierikzee, The Netherlands)
C: recirculation pump diluate (Model 323E/D, Watson Marlow, MA, USA)
D: recirculation pump electrolyte (MD-15RM-230GS, Iwaki Co, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan)
E: recirculation pump concentrate (MD-15RM-230GS, Iwaki Co, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan)
F: diluate tank
G: electrolyte tank
H: concentrate tank
I: sample point diluate
J: sample point concentrate
K: pH and EC sensor diluate (pH electrode 5334T w/ Pt1000 and Cond cell 5396, Hach, CO,
USA)
L: EC probe concentrate (Cond cell 5396, Hach, CO, USA)
S5
Figure A.5: Shower water treatment unit (SWTU)
A: storage tank grey water
B: peracetic acid dosing unit
C: mixing tank grey water – ED diluate – RO filtrate
D: nanofiltration unit 1
E: nanofiltration unit 2
F: one recirculation and one pressure booster pump of RO module (only front pump visible)
G: SC1000 controller (Hach, Germany)
H: buffer tank RO concentrate
I: RO unit 1 (Drukhuis 10-730 and 10-731, European Membrane Institute-Twente, The
Netherlands)
J: RO unit 2 (Drukhuis 10-730 and 10-731, European Membrane Institute-Twente, The
Netherlands)
K: one recirculation and one pressure booster pump of RO module (only front pump visible)
L: storage tank hygienic water (RO permeate)
S6
Supplemental File B: Analytical Methods
The concentrations of Cl-, NO2-, NO3-, SO42- and PO43- were determined on a Metrohm 930
Compact Ion Chromatograph (Metrohm, Switzerland) equipped with a conductivity detector
and a metrosep A supp 5 column containing quaternary ammonium groups. Na +, NH4+, K+,
Ca2+ and Mg2+ were determined on a Methrom 761 Compact Ion Chromatograph (Metrohm,
Switzerland) equipped with a conductivity detector and Metrosep A supp 5-150/4.0 column.
Samples were filtered (0.22 µm ChromafilXtra filter) and diluted with milli-Q water to a
range of 0.05 to 100 mgion L-1 before analysis. COD was analysed with Nanocolor® tube test
kits (COD15000; Macherey-Nagel, USA). The COD concentration was determined in
unfiltered samples, since filtering would remove the particulate COD fraction. Samples were
diluted with milli-Q water prior to destruction so that the concentration fell within detection
limit (1000-15000 mg COD L-1). Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) was analysed according to
Standard methods (4500-Norg B; APHA, 1992). Samples were diluted with milli-Q water
prior to destruction so that the concentration fell within the detection limits (9 - 250 mg NH 4+-
N L-1). Calcium and magnesium concentrations were analysed by means of atomic absorption
spectrometry (Shimadzu, AA6300). The samples were diluted with milli-Q water and
acidified with 1% nitric acid and 2% of Lanthanum solution.
S7
Supplemental File C: Performance data SWTU
Table C.1: Overview of compound specific average retentions in the different membrane
modules as calculated from the concentrations and flows presented in Table 2
(manuscript).
NF Retention RO Retention
(%) (%)
N-total 4 91
N-[NH4+/NH3] 5 66
-
N-NO 3 3 92
-
N-NO 2 51 97
COD 37 95
++
Ca 42 96
+
K 3 94
Na+ 5 96
++
Mg 8 98
P 29 97
-
Cl 5 93
2-
S - SO4 28 96
S8
A B
C D
E F
S9
G H
I J
K L
S10
M N
O P
Q R
S11
S T
U V
Figu
re C.1: Overview of WTUB raw anion (A-U) and cation (B-V) measurements taken
during combined operation of stored urine, bioreactor, ED diluate, ED concentrate,
Shower water, Mixing tank, NF concentrate, NF permeate, RO retentate, RO
concentrate and RO permeate.
produced assuming an operational pressure between 2-4 bar. The NF flux was however
deliberately reduced during the initial phase because the system was limited by the
permeability of the SWRO membranes in the RO unit. NF permeabilities of >20 L m -2 h-1 bar-1
S12
were achieved. However, after switching to the BWRO, the mixture of shower water and ED
diluate also resulted in a ~50% decrease in permeability from 14 to 7 L m -2 h-1 bar-1. Due to
this reduction in observed permeability, it was not feasible to produce the required flow rate
Figure C.2: Permeability (left axis)and flux (right axis) during the period of operation
for the a) NF and the b) RO. Initially a seawater RO (SWRO) membrane and from the
arrow a brackish water RO (BWRO) membrane was used to treat a 1:1:1 mixture of
shower water, ED diluate and RO permeate. The peaks resulting in increased
permeability were the consequence of cleaning cycles
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For the SWRO membrane (DOW-SW30), the hypothesis to produce 20-30 L d -1 of RO
permeate at a pressure of 10-15 bar with 0.04 m 2 membrane surface area was also proven
false. The clean water permeability (2.1 ± 0.3 L m-2 h-1 bar-1) declined within minutes upon
operation with real shower water and ED diluate and stabilised at 0.6 ± 0.1 L m-2 h-1 bar-1
(Figure C.2). Subsequently, it was postulated that a substitution of the SWRO by a BWRO
membrane (DOW-BW30) would result in a higher overall flow rate and reduced pressure
requirement due to the relatively low measured conductivity of the NF permeate (1-3 mS cm -
1
) and RO-concentrate (8-10 mS cm -1). Although the permeability of the BWRO membrane
exceeded the SWRO membrane permeability in the entire operational period a decline from
2.1-2.3 to 0.7-0.9 L m-2 h-1 bar -1 was observed over the course of the experiment (Figure C.2).
In order to understand the observed decline, both the scaling and biofouling potential were
analysed based on the measured water composition and will be described in the next section.
Figure 2A revealed that the addition of ED diluate, which showed limited microbial growth
potential due to the lack of COD, caused a significant increase in the biological growth
potential in the NF permeate, by supplementing the limiting nutrient in shower water (N). The
results of this analysis also correspond with visual observations and the observed decline in
For real-life applications like in the Concordia station, a sanitary design approach would have
prevented micro-organisms to enter this sensitive section of the unit. In previous studies, PAA
solution (1%) was therefore also dosed successfully as a powerful biodegradable oxidizing
agent to stabilize the shower water and control microbial growth. But in the current study a
non-sanitary design was chosen, due to which PAA could contribute to the biofouling
potential. As PAA decomposes into acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide according to the
following equation:
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C 2 H 4 O3 + H 2 O← → H 2 O2 +C H 3 COOH
Once free peroxide (H2O2) is consumed, the equilibrium shifts from peracetic towards acetic
acid, a readily biodegradable carbon source. In the storage tank, the COD concentration was
as high as 1.5 COD g L-1. This was decreased to 0.46 g COD L -1 in the mixing tank (due to
dilution with ED diluate). In line with previous studies, acetic acid/acetate rejection on the NF
was limited [1, 2]. As acetic acid was the main contributor to COD, the rejection of COD by
the ceramic NF was lower than reported elsewhere [3]. The operation of the NF was not
severely affected as active PAA was present in this compartment. However, to prevent
oxidative damage to the RO membranes, the system was steered towards a low PAA
concentration (< 1 mg L-1) in the NF permeate. It is therefore anticipated that due to the
addition of traces of nitrogen through the ED diluate, microbial growth, biofouling and RO-
The saturation index (SI) measures the degree of supersaturation of ions in solution with
respect to the chemical equilibrium solubility. Based on the liquid composition urine, ED
diluate, shower water and RO permeate the SI was calculated for the most common
precipitates (Figure C.3). From this the most likely precipitating compounds were selected for
the simulation presented in figure 2B. The stepwise water-removal source code
(https://water.usgs.gov/water-resources/software/PHREEQC/documentation/phreeqc3-html/
phreeqc3-79.htm) was originally developed for evaporative processes, but was adapted to
mimic the effect of an increasing theoretical Volumetric Concentration Factor (VCF) on the
S15
Figure C.3: Saturation index of various minerals in urine, ED diluate, shower water and a mixture of
shower water and ED diluate as calculated in phreeqC.
Due to the negative SI of the ED diluate, the SI for TCP was effectively lowered in the
mixture of shower water and ED diluate (3.6) compared to the SI in shower water only (6.1).
With respect to calcite (CaCO3) a similar decrease in SI was observed from-1.2 to -1.3 for
shower water only compared to shower water mixed with ED diluate (Figure C.3). For both
the shower water and the ED diluate mixed with shower water the maximum precipitates per
noteworthy that without urine pretreatment the mixture would result in 0.21 and 0.27 mmol L -
1
precipitates per liter for NH 4-struvite and TCP (Figure 2B). It was therefore concluded that
the urine pretreatment and addition of ED diluate to shower water successfully decreased the
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Table C.3. Input data used for phreeqC simulations
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10 graph_x 1 / tot("water")
SOLUTION 20 graph_y log10(tot("Na")),
log10(tot("Cl")), log10(tot("Mg")),
[Table D.1] log10(tot("Ca")), log10(tot("P")),
log10(mol("MgHCO3+"))
MIX 1
10 USER_GRAPH 2
20 -headings water Urine_Calcite
3 0.5 Urine_Hydroxyapatite Urine_Dolomite
4 0.5 Urine_Struvite Urine_TCP
5 0.0 -axis_scale x_axis 0 100
-axis_scale y_axis 0 0.001 auto auto
PHASES -axis_titles "Volumetric Concentration
Struvite 390 factor" "Precipitates (moles)"
MgAmmHPO4:6H2O = Mg+2 + AmmH+ -chart_title "Expected Precipitation"
+ PO4-3 + 6H2O -start
log_k -13.26 10 graph_x 1 / tot("water")
20 graph_y equi("Calcite")
TCP equi("Hydroxyapatite") equi("Dolomite")
Ca3(PO4)2 = 3Ca+2 + 2PO4-3 equi("Struvite") equi("Ca3(PO4)2")
log_k -35.2749931
delta_h -76.38 kJ USER_GRAPH 3
-headings water Urine_SI(Calcite)
EQUILIBRIUM_PHASES Urine_SI(Hydroxyapatite)
Urine_SI(Dolomite) Urine_SI(Struvite)
# carbonates... Urine_SI(Ca3(PO4)2)
CO2(g) -3.5 0 -axis_scale x_axis 0 20
Calcite 0 0 -axis_scale y_axis -10 10 auto auto
Dolomite 0 0 -axis_titles "Volumetric Concentration
factor" "Saturation index"
# sulfates... -chart_title "Saturation index"
-start
Gypsum 0 0 10 graph_x 1 / tot("water")
20 graph_y SI("Calcite")
# phosphates SI("Hydroxyapatite") SI("Dolomite")
Hydroxyapatite 0 0 SI("Struvite") SI("Ca3(PO4)2")
Struvite 0 0
Ca3(PO4)2 0 0 USER_GRAPH 4
-headings pH
USER_GRAPH 1 -axis_scale x_axis 0 20
-headings x Urine_Na+ Urine_Cl- -axis_scale y_axis 0 14 auto auto
Urine_Mg+2 Urine_Ca+2 Urine_PO4-3 -axis_titles "Volumetric Concentration
Urine_MgHCO3+ factor" "pH"
-axis_scale x_axis 0 20 auto auto -chart_title "Saturation index"
-axis_scale y_axis -6 1 auto auto -start
-axis_titles "Volumetric Concentration 10 graph_x 1 / tot("water")
factor" "Log(Molality)" 20 graph_y -LA("H+")
-chart_title "Estimated Ion Concentration"
-start REACTION
H2O -1; 0 36 3*4 6*1 2*0.25 0.176 5*0.03
INCREMENTAL_REACTIONS true
END
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S18
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S19
Supplemental File D: Details on the theoretical energy balance
S20
Table D.2: Overview of the theoretical energy balance and assumptions. CED: cumulative energy demand
Chemicals Transport
Consumption kg/p.y kWh/kg Ref kWh/p.y kg/L CED (MJ/kg) kWh/kg kWh/p.y. kWh/L (kWh)
NaOH Urine 13 2 [1] 26 0.005597 19 5.28 68.61 0.029537
NaOH GW 7 2 [1] 14 0.003014 19 5.28 36.94 0.015905
HCl 3 4.81 [2] 14 0.001292 14.50 4.03 12.08 0.005202
Oxonia (0,1
%vv) 10 4 [3] 0.04 0.004305 0.02 0.01 0.06 2.52E-05
O2 9 15.88 [5] 147 0.004
Total 33 202 0.014207 Total 118 0.05 3.575
Production
NO3 9.6 3.61 [4] 35 0.004133 15.89 4.41 42.37 0.018242 1.040
2- +
Ca3(PO4)2, NH3, SO4 , and K were produced in neglectable quantities, but may be useful as fertilizer
Total (saved) 36 Total (saved) 44 0.02
Total chemicals 167 kWh/p·y
Total chemicals 0.07 kWh/L
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S21