Michigan profs push 'pee for peonies' urine diversion plan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A pair of University of Michigan researchers are putting the “pee” in peony.
Rather, they’re putting pee ON peonies.
Environmental engineering professors Nancy Love and Krista Wigginton are regular visitors to the Ann Arbor school’s Nichols Arboretum, where they have been applying urine-based fertilizer to the heirloom peony beds ahead of the flowers’ annual spring bloom.
Pee-cycled fertilizer to help peonies pop at Nichols Arboretum
Want to smell the fragrance of lush peonies this spring? Urine luck. The peak bloom of the Peony Garden in the Nichols Arboretum is typically late May to mid-June. This year, the rows and rows of eye-popping flowers will be partially grown through the use of human urine.
The “pee-cycling” effort is part of University of Michigan research that promotes and works to destigmatize urine-based fertilizer over fecal-infused ones.
2022 Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award
CEE is proud to announce that the Rackham Graduate School has selected Nancy Love to receive a 2022 Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award.
The urine revolution: how recycling pee could help to save the world
Separating urine from the rest of sewage could mitigate some difficult environmental problems, but there are big obstacles to radically re-engineering one of the most basic aspects of life.
Flint Community Schools implement 78 hydration stations across 13 buildings
After years of using bottled water in schools, a new day has come. Flint Community Schools launched 78 hydration stations to improve water quality. The stations were commissioned in 2018 and funded by Elon Musk as a project to provide clean water.
Flint Formalizes New 12-Member Water Advisory Council
FLINT, MI, — Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley is pleased to announce the official formation of the Water System Advisory Council. The advisory council has been formed following appointments by the Mayor and approval by City Council, and in adherence to the State of Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act. The 12-member appointed body includes residents, community leaders, municipal water and other technical experts. The Water System Advisory Council will serve as the public's "eyes and ears" for the City's water supply including ongoing water infrastructure projects.
Flush with Excitement
Big Picture Science Podcast: The toilet: A ubiquitous appliance that dates to the time of Shakespeare. In Michigan, why peeing on the peonies can be a good thing.
‘Peecycling’ payoff: Urine diversion shows multiple environmental benefits when used at city scale
Diverting urine away from municipal wastewater treatment plants and recycling the nutrient-rich liquid to make crop fertilizer would result in multiple environmental benefits when used at city scale, according to a new University of Michigan-led study.
Alyssa Schubert awarded American Water Works Association fellowship
Graduate student Alyssa Schubert has received a research fellowship from the Michigan Section of the American Water Works Association (MI-AWWA).
The fellowship will support her research in distribution of risk in drinking water.
Nancy Love honored with national award for outstanding environmental engineering education and research
The American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists has recognized the work of University of Michigan Professor Nancy Love, presenting her with the professional society’s Science Award for 2020.
Zerihun Bekele’s Research Featured in Water Environment Research Magazine
Mature granules in the granular sludge reactor that achieved nitrogen removal via a combination of microbial processes, including anammox was featured on the cover of the July 2020 Water Environment Research Magazine.
Engineers work to disinfect N95 masks for medical personnel
Virus removal approaches, mask resilience and mask fit are all being tested.
Water stays in the pipes longer in shrinking cities — a challenge for public health
The geographic locations where Americans live are shifting in ways that can negatively affect the quality of their drinking water.
Cities that experience long-term, persistent population decline are called shrinking cities. Although shrinking cities exist across the U.S., they are concentrated in the American Rust Belt and Northeast. Urban shrinkage can be bad for drinking water in two ways: through aging infrastructure and reduced water demand.
Nancy Love named the 2019 Kappe Lecturer by AAEES
Nancy Love has been selected as the 2019 Kappe Lecturer by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES). This is an extremely competitive award that is granted annually by the AAEES to a leader in the environmental engineering field whose excellence in research and professional service will inspire students.
Professor Nancy Love receives NSF grant for research on drinking water
It all begins with an idea.Professor Nancy Love, in collaboration with Branko Kerkez and Wayne State University researchers, received a grant for research on drinking water and public health systems.
Water filters could increase bacteria in Flint water, researchers say
FLINT, MI - While the point-of-use water filters provided by the state clear lead from Flint drinking water, they actually have the potential to increase bacteria levels in the water, researchers say.
However, researchers weren't willing to say the potential bacteria posed a health risk to Flint water customers.
Michigan universities collaborate to examine Flint water filters
Researchers from Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University are conducting studies to determine the best ways to manage the type of point-of-use water filters being used by Flint residents.
A $3M grant to turn urine into food crop fertilizer
Converting human urine into a safe fertilizer for agricultural crops is the goal of a new $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
“Prospects for Biological Nitrogen Removal from Anaerobic Effluents during Mainstream Wastewater Treatment” named as ES&T Best of the Best in 2015
Manuscripts submitted to ES&T Letters undergo several rigorous technical reviews, first by an Associate Editor and then by multiple external reviewers, to ensure that these studies are of the highest scientific quality. From those papers that pass our technical review, we accept for publication only those studies that also warrant urgent publication. As a result, the papers published in ES&T Letters are of both quality and of great immediate interest to our readers. Among these excellent papers, the editors of ES&T Letters enjoy recognizing a few papers that particularly stand out among those we published in the past year.
J. Delgado Vela, L. B. Stadler, K. J. Martin, L. Raskin, C. B. Bott, and N. G. Love reviewed available technologies in their critical study of emerging techniques Prospects for Biological Nitrogen Removal from Anaerobic Effluents during Mainstream Wastewater Treatment. They concluded that development of effective nitrogen removal technologies will require the development of sensor-mediated controls, improved computational models, and improved removal efficiency relative to reducing energy demands.
The Science Behind The Flint Water Crisis: Corrosion Of Pipes, Erosion Of Trust
Flint’s recent water crisis is a stinging reminder that the infrastructure we often take for granted has many vulnerabilities.
The crisis also underscores the complexity of providing communities with safe, high-quality potable water.