The Urine Drying team at SLU (together with Sanitation360, Spiran and Gotlands Bryggeri) have been awarded 2.9 MSEK from JTI to test using our dehydrated urine as a fertilizer for barley destined for beer production. The objective of the project is to produce a tailored dry fertilizer from urine and a new, more sustainably produced, beer that tastes exactly the same as conventional produced beer.
At SLU, we have developed a new technology that can convert >90% of the nutrients from urine into a dry, pelletized fertilizer. To collect and treat urine to grow barley for the beer trials, we have partnered with a toilet rental company, Spiran, who supplies 30 portable toilets on Gotland throughout the summer tourist season. To assess the performance of dry urine fertilizer, we have formed an advisory committee to better tailor the fertilizer specifically for barley destined for beer productions. We have partnered with Gotlands Bryggeri who are interested in producing more sustainable beers and will use the barley from this project to produce beer for taste testing. During this three year project, we will raise the TRL of the urine treatment technology from a 4 to a minimum of 7. The overall aim of the project is to use Gotland as a showcase of how human urine can be converted into tailored dry fertilizer products to meet the specific needs of crops.
Contact: Jenna Senecal