THE SOURCE-SEPARATION SEWER OF THE FUTURE – ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE NET-ZERO WATER HOUSEHOLD

Björn Vinnerås’s field of research is a source-separation sewage system that does not consume water. Net-zero water with regard to households of the future is currently a vision, and green innovations based on function and economy are the way to go. SLU Holding has helped take an exciting area of research closer to the market and our households.

Björn Vinnerås grew up on a small farm near Nora. This was also where he developed an interest in the environment, subsistence, cycles and all the processes to be found within agriculture and cultivation.

"My agricultural background has undoubtedly given me my interest in environmental issues and has contributed to my choice of career, but it’s also meant that I now prefer to stay away from gardening work!” says Björn

Following graduation Björn studied chemical engineering at Mälardalen University, specialising in process chemistry. He always had an interest in the environment – So when he took up an SLU doctoral studentship in environmental engineering, specifically source-separation sewage systems, Björn switched specialisations. That’s over 20 years ago now.

Plant nutrients from cites to rural areas in an efficient cycle
Björn's area of specialisation is environmental engineering and recycling technologies, specialising in safe recycling of plant nutrients from cities to agriculture. To start with, Björn researched on sanitising technology, i.e. how to remove unwanted microorganisms and contagions from substrates intended to be re-cycled. Along with the company Peoopoole, Björn’s research led to the co-development of a self-sanitising toilet solution currently available on the Kenyan market under the name PeePoo. The combination of process engineering, chemical engineering and microbiology in this field makes the whole thing as interesting as issues are complex. Björn currently leads a research group comprising of five researchers, five doctoral students and two research technicians in the field of nutrient recycling, sanitising technology and protein production using fly larvae.

"One of the things we’re trying to do is create the source-separating sanitation system of the future. How can we deal with our waste whilst using as little energy and water as possible? The key to the success of this research is to seek an environmentally adapted system that is financially sustainable, mainly by asking ourselves how we can get value from waste products,” says Björn.

Source-separating toilets without water and sewage
Over 90% of all the water consumed domestically is used to remove waste. When we flush toilets, wash-up or take a shower, we use water. We only use about 10 litres of water per person per day for cooking or drinking. In urban development there has long been talk of ‘zero-energy buildings’ as a vision, i.e. buildings not consuming more energy than they produce themselves, e.g. using solar energy. In the development of sewage and waste management, work on cyclical technology is seeking realisation of a similar vision: ‘zero water’. Apart from the water savings achieved by the toilets that Björn and his team are developing, one can dry the toilet waste fractions to produce solid concentrated fertilisers. This technology also avoids installation of water and drainage pipes. So the potential benefits are enormous!

The experience of using the toilet will also correspond to current use of a normal WC, and waste management will be easy and convenient, much like replacement of a printer ink cartridge. A test facility is up and running at Björn's Department at SLU, and there is on-going dialogue with several Swedish stakeholders who have shown great interest, e.g. the City of Malmö.

Function and economy are the basis for introducing new behaviours into society
One of the greatest insights Björn has gained after almost two decades as a researcher in the field of environmental engineering and recycling technologies is that in the long run, alarming reports and environmental commitment alone are insufficient to create new environmentally friendly habits and behaviours amongst people. Function and economy are crucial to bringing about change.

"Function and the economy – not just the environment – must be the driving force. The result must be a better environment. In your everyday life, you must benefit from improving the environment, and doing this has to be extremely straightforward. It will then be sustainable in the long term,” says Björn..

The clearest example of this is source separation of solid waste. We currently separate paper, food waste, glass, metal, batteries etc. and take them to a recycling station. When the availability of stations and glass igloos increased and the ease of handling became apparent, it simply became more straightforward and ‘less messy’ to sort waste than to ‘push everything down into the one and the same rubbish bag’, as we used to do.

SLU Holding has helped with patents and contractual issues
Björn's goal is to continue working as a researcher. But at the same time, it is important for Björn that the research he and his team are working,benefit society.

"What drives me is that our research is put to use and in practice contributes to a better environment. As we have to compete for research funds, there is an additional purpose in endeavouring to commercialise our research. Producing an application in the form of a product on the market means we can fund our future research, which means we can continue this research,” says Björn.

SLU Holding has been helpful in taking Björn’s research from the lab to the market. In concrete terms, SLU Holding has helped his group with patent and contract issues, and has been at his side as a partner in discussions and as an additional provider of expertise in the field of product and business development.

Two important simultaneous thoughts
So what is Björn's best advice in terms of getting a research idea to eventually become an innovation on a market?

"As a researcher, you need to keep research development and product development separate. Research comes first. The research issue is crucial, as is maintaining the quality of research within the research group. But you also need a long-term goal for your research, and need to see a potential use and seek assistance of those with knowledge of such aspects. Quite simply, two important thoughts to bear in mind simultaneously,” Björn concludes.