NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES

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E3. PHOSPHORUS AND FOOD SECURITY
The mineral phosphorus reserves of the world are
running out. It is debated how long this will
take, but it is likely that, due to limited
resources, we will see a large price increase on
phosphorus fertilizer in the coming decades.
One solution to the phosphorus challenge is to
recycle phosphorus that already is in different
kind of biological material. Human excreta can
become the largest source of organic based
fertilizer in the future and we must start to
plan for that today
E3. PHOSPHORUS AND FOOD SECURITY
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NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES
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Photo Ronny Hansen
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www.umb.no
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E3. PHOSPHORUS AND FOOD SECURITY
There are many ways of recycling phosphorus from
human excreta and the vision is that no human
excreta and feces especially should be mixed into
the water cycle. TASK 1. Give a short overview
of why recycling of phosphorus, but also other
resources in human excreta, is important. 2. What
type of technologies can we use if we want to
recycle P from human excreta? 3. What are some of
the main challenges regarding use of these
technologies?
E3. PHOSPHORUS AND FOOD SECURITY
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NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES
Illustration Werner et al. 2004
To solve this exercise 1. Use knowledge
obtained through this course. 2. Use the
internet 3. Use the SSWM toolbox www.sswm.info
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Photo Ronny Hansen
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www.umb.no