Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 17, 2026

A Protocol for Collecting and Constructing Soil Core Lysimeters
Published on: June 6, 2016
Plant uptake of phosphorus and nitrogen recycled from synthetic source-separated urine
Christophe Bonvin1, Bastian Etter, Kai M Udert
1Group of Plant Nutrition, Research Station Eschikon, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich, Eschikon 33, 8315, Lindau, Switzerland, bonvin.ch@gmail.com.
Abstract:
Urine contains about 50 % of the phosphorus (P) and about 90 % of the nitrogen (N) excreted by humans and is therefore an interesting substrate for nutrient recovery. Source-separated urine can be used to precipitate struvite or, through a newly developed technology, nitrified urine fertilizer (NUF). In this study, we prepared (33)P radioisotope- and stable (15)N isotope-labeled synthetic NUF (SNUF) and struvite using synthetic urine and determined P and N uptake by greenhouse-grown ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum var. Gemini) fertilized with these products. The P and N in the urine-based fertilizers were as readily plant-available in a slightly acidic soil as the P and N in reference mineral fertilizers. The ryegrass crop recovered 26 % of P applied with both urine-based fertilizers and 72 and 75 % of N applied as struvite and SNUF, respectively. Thus, NUF and urine-derived struvite are valuable N and P recycling fertilizers.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Bioremediation of Uranium
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this...
The Phosphorus Cycle
Key Elements for Plant Nutrition
Formation of Concentrated Urine
Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation

