Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Environmental Technology & Innovation

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/eti

Production of hydroponic solution from human urine using

adsorption–desorption method with coconut shell-derived
activated carbon
∗
Van Quang Nguyen a , Huu Tap Van b , , Sy Hung Le c , The Hung Nguyen d ,
Huu Tho Nguyen e , Nguyen Thi Lan f , Quoc Toan Pham f , Thi Tuyet Nguyen b ,
Thi Ngo.c Ha Tran b , Thi Bich Hanh Nguyen b , Trung Kien Hoang b
a
The Center for Technology Incubator and Startup Support, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Quyet Thang
ward, Thai Nguyen City, Viet Nam
b
Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, TNU - University of Sciences (TNUS), Tan Thinh Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Viet Nam
c
Advanced Educational Program, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Quyet Thang Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Viet
Nam
d
Faculty of Environment, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Quyet Thang Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Viet Nam
e
Faculty of Economics and Rural Development, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Quyet Thang Ward, Thai
Nguyen City, Viet Nam
f
Faculty of Agronomy, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Quyet Thang Ward, Thai Nguyen City, Viet Nam

article info a b s t r a c t

Article history: The use of activated carbon in adsorbing organic compounds inherent in human urine
Received 12 May 2021 and subsequently desorbing them as nutrients for hydroponic solutions has been
Received in revised form 15 June 2021 examined in this study. Human urine was collected for adsorption and desorption.
Accepted 15 June 2021
The adsorbent was characterized in terms of porosity, surface area, SEM images, and
Available online 17 June 2021
FTIR spectrum. After being washed, activated carbon was set into columns. Urine was
Keywords: subsequently pumped in with 3 distinct urine concentrations of 100%, 50%, and 20% for
Activated carbon adsorption during sixteen hours. Afterward, the activated carbon was removed from
Hydroponic solution the columns and was settled at the ambient temperature in 3 days to decompose
Human urine adsorbed organic compounds, producing constituents that facilitate absorption in plants.
Adsorption For desorption, the three kinds of dried activated carbon from adsorption was crammed
Desorption into columns for a desorption process in sixteen hours. To evaluate adsorption and
desorption, TOC, IC, NH+ −
4 , NO3 , and P2 O5 were the parameters recorded during exper-
imenting and resulted in highest numbers of 1610 mg/l, 326.30 mg/l, 2.61 mg/l, 7.24
mg/l, and 256.87 mg/l, respectively. The study also obtained EC and pH of the columns
with the highest numbers of 16630 µS/cm and 9.48, respectively. Nutrients gained
from desorption were tested for the cultivation of Brown mustard (Brassica juncea) in
hydroponics. The nutrient resulting from the 50% urine generated the most productive
parameters of growth compared to the rest. Through this study, it is clear that the
application of adsorption–desorption in agricultural production is completely feasible
in terms of practical implementation.
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: tapvh@tnus.edu.vn (H.T. Van).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2021.101708
2352-1864/© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

1. Introduction

Wastewater from living activities has been proven to be a potential resource instead of crap materials (Abdulla and
Ouki, 2015; Kiyasudeen et al., 2016; Tanik, 2010). As one kind of wastewater, human urine possesses a composition of 85%
nitrogen (N), 50% phosphorus (P), and 55% potassium (K) in only 1% of the total mass (Jönsson et al., 2005a,b; Maurer et al.,
2003; Rose et al., 2015). Those are vital elements for the growth of vegetation (Kaur et al., 2015). In fact, the cultivation
of agricultural plants often requires fertilizers that contains N, P, and K (Scherer, 2005; Saeid and Chojnacka, 2019; Anh
et al., 2020). Therefore, human urine can be a source of nutrients for plants while simultaneously improve the fertility
of soils (Sene et al., 2019). Moreover, the abundance of this material leads to affordability and no shortages in terms of
quantity. However, without proper treatments, urine can also cause environmental issues such as unpleasant smells and
eutrophication (Jönsson, 2002; Ogunnaike and Fadeyi, 2011; Spångberg et al., 2014).
The deployment of a system that is capable of separating urine out of living wastewater has been considered in order
to employ this material as a liquid fertilizer (Adamsson, 2000). More specifically, it is a step-by-step protocol using green
algae, zooplankton, and plants to reduce the concentration of ammonium within urine. From that foundation, urine is
recycled into a usable nutrient source. Before that scenario, Kirchmann and Pettersson (1994) asserted the feasibility of
utilizing human urine in agriculture and obtained certain effectiveness. It was owing to the nutrient values of this scrap
material, which is equivalent to many chemical fertilizers and also contains microelements beside Nitrogen, Phosphorus,
and Potassium (Jönsson et al., 2005a,b; Pradhan et al., 2007).
On the other hand, the employment of an underwater soil system in combination with a dilution technique to eliminate
redundant ammonium was studied and initially achieved positive results (Farahbakhshazad and Morrison, 1997). Based
on the fundament of that research, the adsorption method used for removing over 50%–80% of ammonium within urine
has been conceptualized. In fact, this technology shows a great capability when it has removed over 90% the amount of
Phosphate and Potassium in fresh urine and hydrolyzed urine (Zeng et al., 2013). In addition, there were studies regarding
urine treatments, which focus on urea hydrolysis, struvite precipitation, and ammonia removal (Ronteltap et al., 2010; Hug
and Udert, 2013; Moraes et al., 2017; Sigurdarson et al., 2018; Seruga et al., 2019). The final purpose of all those studies was
to recycle urine into usable materials. Zhu et al. (2018), Rama et al. (2019) and Nguyen et al. (2021) used biochar derived
from avocado seeds to adsorb ammonium in water. Cheng et al. (2020) also improved the anaerobic decomposition of
wastewater from pig breeding through the usage of biochar derived from straw, reducing ammonium-based contaminants.
Natural organic matter and ammonia from dam water was also removed by coagulation and adsorption on powdered
composite nano-adsorbent (Wongcharee et al., 2020).
Adsorption and desorption have been declared as an excellent technology to treat and recycle the urine of humans.
Ganrot et al. (2007) used a Freezing-thawing method (FTM) combined with struvite recovery and nitrogen adsorption
onto zeolite and activated carbon to retrieve nitrogen and phosphorus from human urine. The result obtained from that
study also indicated that activated carbon had a great capacity in the adsorption of N and P. Cai et al. (2021) studied
the improvement of removing nitrogen by the combination of straw and zeolite. The result of that study showed a great
potential of the combination as a filtering substance in sewers, eliminating nitrogen-based contaminants. Meanwhile,
Takaya et al. (2015) published a study evaluating the adsorption of phosphorus and ammonium onto biochar in various
wastewater environments. The study concluded that adsorbents with larger surface areas performed led to no higher
efficiencies than adsorbents with smaller surface areas. Additionally, the studies of Liu et al. (2014) and Hou et al. (2016)
regarding the ammonium adsorption capacity of biochar derived from corncob and large-sized reeds are remarkable for
the scientific values that they created. In those studies, the ammonium adsorption capacities recorded were 6.37 mg/g
and 1.41 mg/g for corncob and reed, respectively.
From the literature, it is well demonstrated that the usage of biochar in treating human urine is capable of offering
many benefits for agriculture environmental activities. Nevertheless, the aforementioned studies have not completely
covered all the potential applications of this material. Most of them were conducted separately in terms of research
goals. Moreover, studied treatments were rudimental and limited on papers and no study has utilized activated carbon
as an adsorbent for transferringhuman urine into hydroponic solutions. This fact leads to that the studying direction
of combining adsorption and desorption using activated carbon to obtain nutrient solutions used for hydroponics is
novel. It also promises simultaneous solutions for reducing environmental pollution and serving organic and sustainable
agriculture. Therefore, the research group set the goals to optimize human urine as a nutrient source for agricultural
plants through a combination of adsorption and desorption using activated carbon. The recycling process was also
examined and assessed via criteria such as pH, EC, TOC, IC, NH4 + , NO3 − and P2 O5 , facilitating the implementation of
quality differentiation between urinary nutrients and chemical fertilizers. This research promises substantial applicability,
satisfying realistic demands. As a result, this direction offers an important role, laying foundations for scientific research
in the future with regard to the treatment and utilization of wastewater resulted from living activities.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Materials

2.1.1. Human urine

Urine was collected from adults by retaining the wastewater in plastic bottles in Lecture Hall at TNU - University of
Sciences, Thai Nguyen City, Vietnam. Subsequently, the urine was preserved in a refrigerator at 5 ◦ C. Before experimented,
the urine was diluted into 3 various concentrations for the corresponding adsorption and desorption processes.
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

2.1.2. Coconut shell-derived activated carbon

Commercial activated carbon (AC) derived from coconut shell was purchased from Tra Bac Company, Vietnam. The
material had a particle size of 1–2 cm. The activated carbon was dried at 105 ◦ C within two hours in a drying oven.

2.2. Methods of data collection and analysis

2.2.1. Characterization of the adsorbent

The activated carbon was characterized with the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spec-
troscopy (EDS) (S-4800, Serial: HI-9022-0003, HITACHI Japan); Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) () and Fourier Transform
Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) (FTIR-4600, Serial: E146361786, Jasco, Japan) in order to obtain the surface area, total
pore volume, and radicals available on the surface of coconut-shell activated carbon. More specifically, the magnified
image of the adsorbent was showed through SEM to visually evaluate the surface of activated carbon. The BET method
(Brunauer–Emmett–Teller)(Tristar 3000 V6.07 A, Micromeritics, USA) quantified the total surface area and the porosity
of the activated carbon. EDS was employed to determine the chemical composition of activated carbon. Finally, the FTIR
method recorded chemical activities of the adsorbent’s surface before and after adsorption–desorption.

2.2.2. Parameters of evaluation

There are seven parameters targeted for records in this study during adsorption and desorption. Particularly, they
are total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (IC), the concentrations of NH4 + , NO3 − , P2 O5 , pH, and EC of
the hydroponic solution. The TOC and IC analyses were conducted through the Multi N/C3100 analyzer (Germany).
NH4 + concentrations were determined by the nessler method, using a UV–VIS spectrophotometer (Jeong et al., 2013).
Total P2 O5 was analyzed using the vanadium phosphomolybdate spectrophotometric method (Palgrave et al., 1970).
Spectrophotometer method were also used for analysis NO3 − concentration (Abdulla and Ouki, 2015). Finally, the pH
and EC of the hydroponic solutions were measured with a portable multi-meter (model HQ40D, Hach).

2.2.3. Data analysis

The data of parameters resulting from experiments were processed through SPSS and Microsoft Excel Software. Graphs
were synthesized with Origin 2019.

2.3. Adsorption–Desorption experimental design

2.3.1. Adsorption experiments

Adsorption experiments were conducted based on a model of adsorption columns. In the model, a PVC column with
an internal diameter of 10.10 cm and a heigh of 100 cm was fixed as Fig. 1. The column was charged with a 5 cm thick
layer of stones and a 1 cm thick layer of sand. These two layers were responsible for preventing the loss of adsorbents.
Coconut shell adsorbents were loaded in the column with a thickness of 50 cm. The urine solution was contained in bottle
one equipped with a pump to circulate the urine through the column in a direction from the downward to the upward.
The flow rate was 10 ml/min. After adsorption, the solution was contained in Bottle 2 (Fig. 1). This was a continuous
adsorption system. The applied concentrations of urine included 20%, 50%, and 100%. After every two hours of adsorption,
the urine solution was obtained to evaluate the pH, EC, TOC, IC, concentrations of NH4 + , NO3 − , and P2 O5 . This process was
continually carried out until that the differences among records were insignificant. The experiments had three formulas
corresponding to three urine concentrations and were designed in a random pattern with three replications.

2.3.2. Desorption experiments and the production of hydroponic solutions

The desorption experiments were to obtain nutrients and make hydroponic solutions. After adsorption reached the
point of saturation, coconut shell biochar was removed from the column and settled at the room temperature (30 ± 3 ◦ C)
in three days four nights to initiate decomposition, converting complex compounds into simple nutrient constituents.
After settling, the biochar was re-loaded in the columns that were designed as adsorption experiments. However, instead
of pumping urine, fresh water was used to circulate through the system. After every two hours of desorption, the water
was assessed in terms of pH, EC, TOC, IC, concentrations of NH4 + , NO3 − , and P2 O5 . The desorption experiments were also
continually carried out until the differences of parameters were insignificant. The final water (solution) obtained from
desorption was employed as nutrient solutions for the hydroponic cultivation of brown mustard. The experiments also
had three formulas of urine concentrations and three repetitions designed in a random pattern.

2.4. The cultivation of brown mustard in hydroponics

Brown mustard (brassica juncae) is an indigenous breed of vegetable. Therefore, it requires less management and adapts
better to the local conditions. As brown mustard is indigenous, the breed is abundantly available. Moreover, it has a
short life cycle. These are the characteristics of a plant that is suitable for hydroponic cultivation. The experiments were
conducted with a hydroponic system and brown mustard seedlings planted on substrates made of coconut fibers and
alluvia. The hydroponic system consisted on plastic pipes that had a diameter of 90 mm and a length of 4 m. Those
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

Fig. 1. Model of an adsorption–desorption column (a) and Hydroponic systems (b).

pipes were chiselled with 5-cm holes that were 17 cm apart from each other. The pipes were arranged on a steel frame
(60 cm higher than the ground; 1◦ inclining toward the ground) with a space between every two pipes of 10–12 cm. At
the two ends of each pipe, there was a system that pumped and circulated the nutrient solution, which was controlled
through valves. The nutrient solution was contained within a plastic tank, which stayed on a ground that was 0.7 m
higher than the pipes. Such a design creates a closed circulated hydroponic system (Allen Pattillo and Allen, 2017). The
substrates containing seedlings were set on the hydroponic system with a frequency of pumping nutrient solutions of
fifteen times/day (ten min/time).
In this study, there were three formulas corresponding to three types of nutrient solutions and three repetitions. To
obtain data corresponding to the growth of the plants, the length of plants, number of leaves, width of leaves, and length
of leaves were recorded for comparisons and conclusion. Regarding the measurement, the height of plants was measured
from beginning of the shoot to the apical bud. While the width and the length of leaves referred to measuring the 3rd
leaves counting from the top. The work of recording was conducted every five days. The harvest came when 50% of the
plants reached the standards for harvesting.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Characteristics of coconut shell-derived activated carbon

In general, the surface structure of an adsorbent plays an essential role in adsorption capability. Particularly, the surface
area and porosity are the factors providing the space for retaining ions. According to Fig. 2a, the surface of coconut shell
biochar is heterogeneous and rough. Nevertheless, it is relatively difficult to detect pores as they are small, shallow, and
uneven in terms of distribution. The BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) specific surface area and the total pore volume of the
adsorbent were 691.64 m2 /g and 0.062 cm3 /g, respectively.
According to Fig. 2b, the EDS analysis indicated that coconut shell-derived activated carbon was composed of only
carbon (C) and oxygen (O). Specifically, carbon accounted for 89.45% of the total weight and 91.87% of the total atoms.
Oxygen occupied 10.55% of the weight and only 8.13% in terms of atomic composition. The mass ratio between carbon
and oxygen was approximately 8.5:1, respectively. While in terms of atomic ratios, the amount of carbon was over 11.3
times higher than oxygen. As a result, carbon is the major element composing the material. This is a proof that the
activated carbon has been optimized for adsorption when non-carbon elements were eliminated during activation with
high temperatures (Bansal and Goyal, 2005). In fact, the release of such elements as hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen leads
to ruptures in terms of morphology. This explains the relatively high roughness of coconut shell activated carbon in this
study showed through the SEM image of the adsorbent. The basis is agreed with the study of Tangsathitkulchai et al.
(2016), which also examined coconut shell activated carbon as an adsorbent for carbon dioxide.
Fig. 2c exhibits the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic (FTIR) results obtained from analyzing the adsorbent.
There were five types of functional groups detected on the surface of coconut shell activated carbon used in this study.
C–H and O–H were the most abundant functional groups available when each of the two had four peaks of spectra. The
peaks of C–H were at 491, 581, 691, and 841 cm−1 while O-H groups were detected at 3822, 3720, 3408, and 3406 cm−1 . In
addition, there were also the presence of C–O, C==C, and C==O functional groups, represented by the spectra at the peaks
of 1089, 1544, and 1638 cm−1 , respectively. These functional groups are fundamental in many raw organic materials
especially when activated by only heat exchange (Belhachemi and Addoun, 2011).
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

Fig. 2. Characteristics of coconut shell-derived activated carbon using for adsorption–desorption of human urine.

3.2. Characteristics of Hydroponic solution from human urine using adsorption–desorption

The results below represent obtained indexes of TOC, IC, EC, pH, concentrations of NH4 + , NO3 − , and P2 O5 in the initial
urine solutions, the solutions after adsorption, and the solutions after desorption (hydroponic solutions). All the solutions
originated from the same source of initial human urine. The solutions after desorption were subsequently used as nutrient
solutions for the tested cultivation of brown mustard in hydroponics.

* TOC and IC of hydroponic solution

The total organic carbon (TOC) and inorganic carbon (IC) resulting from adsorption–desorption on a experimental
column model are presented in Fig. 3. Overall, the TOC and IC of the solution increased over time of adsorption and
decreased over time of desorption. The TOC in human urine illustrate the amount of organic compounds in the solution,
including proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Ly et al. (2019) indicated that carbon on soluble microbial
products (SMP) is beneficial in optimizing biological processing system and operating filtration membranes. The organic
carbon-containing compounds in urine are divided into dissolved organic carbon and particulate organic carbon. In 2020,
Martin et al. declared an overall assessment through studies, asserting the usability of human urine as a fertilizer for
agriculture. Fig. 3a1 represents the TOC of adsorption experiments in this study. As TOC was gradually increasing over time
of adsorption for all 3 formulas, the organic carbon-containing compounds in human urine were retained in the activated
carbon. While in desorption, the organic compounds were released from the biochar through the flow of fresh water. This
is due to the mechanism of adsorption. Particularly, organic compounds were gradually filling in the pores and rough
surfaces of the adsorbent in sixteen hours before saturation. As the initial TOC was proportional to the concentration of
urine, the final TOC values decreased corresponding to the 100%, 50%, and 20% formulas, respectively. Ro et al. (2015) used
the adsorption column to eliminate ammonia by biochar. The study showed that the adsorption capacity of non-activated
biochar ranged from 0.15 to 5.09 mg Nitrogen/g, which is comparable to other commercial activated carbon and natural
zeolite. In a study of Nguyen et al. (2019), modified biochar derived from corn cob was used as a potential adsorbent for
the removal of organic contaminants through a column adsorption model. This tendency has been similarly recorded in
the study of Wu et al. (2016) on the adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through a fixed bed packed with
a hypercrosslinked polymeric resin. Charola et al. (2018) also reported that the concentration of dye Reactive Orange 84
in the solution increased over time of adsorption in a column containing activated carbon prepared from empty cotton
flower agro-waste. The adsorption of Charola et al. (2018)’s study reached a saturation point after 200 min.
Fig. 3b1 shows the inorganic carbon (IC) throughout the adsorption urine. Although the IC of the three tested formula
all grew over sixteen hours, it is notable that the coconut-shell biochar adsorbed the most inorganic carbon out of the
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

Fig. 3. The effects of adsorption–desorption process by column experiments on TOC and IC for Hydroponic solution production from Human urine.
(Initial TOC and IC: 326.30 mg/l and 1610 mg/l, respectively; initial solution contained 20%, 50% and 100% human urine).

100% solution, followed by the 50% and 20% solutions, respectively. More specifically, after the 4th h, adsorption capacity
inclined sharply in the adsorption of the 100% and the 50% solutions. While adsorbing the 20% formula only led to a slight
increase between the records. After sixteen hours, the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon reached 1610 mg/l in
adsorbing the 100% solution, followed by 1050 mg/l and 571.6 mg/l resulting from the adsorption of 50% and 20% urine,
respectively.
After adsorption, the activated carbon was settled in four days to let the decomposition of organic compounds occur.
Organic carbon-containing compounds might be partially transformed into inorganic carbon-containing compounds.
Therefore, with the desorption experiments, fresh water passing through the biochar desorbed a much lower amount of
TOC compared to the TOC after adsorption (Fig. 3a2). This explained why the IC was higher in the solution after desorption
compared to the solution after adsorption. According Fig. 3b2, the desorption of the 100% and the 50% solutions had a
similar initial IC and then decreased over time. Except for the 20% urine solution, the IC was virtually at 0 mg/l as it was
released totally after sixteen hours of desorption. Despite the differences, TOC and IC over time of desorption still shared
a mutual tendency of gradually decreasing for all three experimental formulas. The 100% urine still resulted in the most
amount of TOC and IC, followed by the 50% and the 20% formulas.

* EC and pH of hydroponic solution

Fig. 4 indicates the values of electrical conductivity (EC) and pH resulted from the adsorption of human urine —
desorption in the column model to produce hydroponic nutrient solution. There were 3 formulas of urine solutions, which
were 20%, 50%, and 100% urine. EC is an index necessary for evaluation in the adsorption–desorption process to produce
hydroponic nutrient solutions as these solutions provide fertilizers in the form of ions (Sakamoto et al., 2020). Particularly,
the frequent measurement of EC contributes to appraising the efficiency of adsorption–desorption. In general, EC increased
over time of adsorption (Fig. 4a1). This means the dissolved salt molecules in the urine solutions were adsorbed onto the
surface of coconut-shell biochar. Specifically, the initial EC of all three formulas were relatively similar. The 100% solution
had an EC of 6238 µS/cm. The initial EC resulting from the 50% and 20% solutions were 4863 µS/cm and 4186 µS/cm,
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

respectively. At the first hours of adsorption, the salts were retained onto the adsorbents with a large amount due to
abundant adsorption active sites. Subsequently, the adsorbed salts reduced as the flow of urine solutions was maintained
and the dosage of biochar was fixed. After sixteen hours of adsorption, the biochar virtually stopped adsorbing dissolved
salts. That is why the EC of the solutions after adsorption were close to the initial numbers with 6132, 4682, and 4035
µS/cm, corresponding the solutions of 100%, 50%, and 20% urine (Fig. 4a1). Explaining for the differences between the
initial EC and the final EC, the adsorption of dissolved salts was not an absolutely efficient process. Zhu et al. (2015)
studied an adsorption process in brackish water. The study indicated that as brackish water was pump through zeolite
(adsorbent), 80% of salinity was eliminated, which was based on EC and the rate of flow. In the experimental period, EC
in the tested solution increased from 1770 µS/cm−1 to 3100 µS/cm−1 in 48 h.
On the contrary, the initial EC values measured in the desorption experiments were high before decreasing over time. At
the first records, the numbers were 1580 µS/cm, 1417 µS/cm, and 1324 µS/cm corresponding the desorption of activated
carbon from the 100%, 50%, and 20% solutions, respectively. After sixteen hours of desorption, the EC values increased to
512 µS/cm, 626 µS/cm, and 730 µS/cm. Resembling the IC, EC after desorption were higher compared to the EC in the
initial urine solutions. This is due to the increase in the quality of constituents after decomposition and oxidation before
desorption. Hernández-Soriano et al. (2012) indicated that the increase of EC during the initial records of desorption was
firmly related to the content of organic compounds in the solution and the adsorbent, which consisted of soluble organic
salts on the surface. As a result, the amount of salts released were higher than the initial concentration in urine, leading
to higher EC values. Salts play an important role in the growth of plants. They are displayed through EC. Other studies
have indicated that with an EC higher than 2500 µS/cm, the growth of tomatoes was limited (Valdez and Maruo, 2002). A
level of 1300 µS/cm in a nutrient solution is highly recommended for the cultivation of Romaine lettuce in a hydroponic
system (Angeles and Engineering, 1999). Consequently, the interval of EC in the solutions derived from urine in this study
is suitable for producing an applicable nutrient solution.
In terms of pH, the initial values in the 100%, 50%, and 20% urine were 9.48, 9.74, and 9.65, respectively. After the
activated carbon started adsorbing dissolved compounds in two hours, those pH values decreased to 8.30, 8.49, and 8.36
(Fig. 4b1). Subsequently, after sixteen hours, the levels of pH gradually rose and correspondingly reached 9.42, 9.21, and
9.11. This is due to the degradation of the adsorbent in terms of adsorption capacity, caused by the reach of saturation
over time. At first, a considerable number of constituents was adsorbed, leading to a decrease in pH compared to the
initial numbers. Nevertheless, when the adsorption capacity decreased due to that the active sites were occupied, less
amounts were adsorbed, resulting in a gradual incline of pH over time. Some previous studies have indicated that the
adsorption of organic compounds is highly dependent on the porosity of adsorbents (Xiao and Pignatello, 2016; Lattao
et al., 2014). On the other hand, solution pH is also an important factor in the characterization of adsorbents. That is
because pH affects the charge on the surface of both adsorbents and solutes in the solution, consequently changing many
characteristic aspects (Wang and Chen, 2015; Wang et al., 2017).
On the other hand, desorption experiments showed an opposite tendency. After two hours of desorption, the solution
pH levels were high with 9.13, 8.63, and 8.07 corresponding to the solutions of 100%, 50%, and 20% urine, respectively
(Fig. 4b2). Over time, pH declined. After sixteen hours, they only remained at 8.66, 7.89 và 7.32. This is because the
adsorbed organic compounds, ammonium, and organic phosphorus were decomposed, turning into inorganic compounds
with NO3 − , NO2 − , and salts. That is why the beginning stage of desorption resulted in high levels of solution pH and
they gradually decreased over time. The average values of pH after desorption were 8.92, 8.23, and 7.61, corresponding
the formulas of 100%, 50%, and 20% urine. According to Bhatti et al. (2020), at high pH, an ionic thrust occurs among
biomass atoms and dye ions due to the negative charge on biomass. This subsequently leads to the desorption of initial
dyes, which initially happens at a rapid rate before gradually slowing down and reaching the equilibrium. The higher pH
is due to decomposition commenced by microorganisms, which consume inorganic carbon-containing compounds such
as HCO3 − and aggregate OH− within the solution (de Morais and Costa, 2007). In a hydroponic nutrient solution, the pH
level is a result from the requirements of bacteria and plants. The transformation of ammonium into nitrite and further
into nitrate is optimized at pH 8.50. Nevertheless, the absorption of nutrients in plants is optimal at pH 7. The pH in a
hydroponic solution is recommended at about 8 to ensure both the nitrification reactions in bacteria and the consumption
of nutrients in plants (Tyson R. V et al., 2004). This results also indicated that the optimal interval of pH in an aquaponic
solution is from 7.0 – 7.50. Changes in terms of pH alter the absorption of nutrients. Specifically, iron and many metals
are reduced at high pH levels. Therefore, it is notable that the pH levels resulting from this study is slightly higher for
both hydroponics and aquaponics. However, in a test run for solution pH, the value was declining to the neutral level of
7. This is due to the ion exchange mechanism of plants’ roots, which is capable of neutralizing pH as they absorb OH−
and release H+ . Consequently, the solutions of this study are still applicable and capable of providing an ideal level of pH
for growing plants in hydroponic systems.

* NH4 + and NO3 − of hydroponic solution

In human urine, nitrogen exists in two forms: NH4 + and NO3 − . Fig. 5 shows the concentration of these two compounds
after adsorption onto coconut shell biochar and desorption. Regarding adsorption, the adsorption capacity of biochar
for NH4 + was highly dependent on the concentration of urine in the solution. The initial concentrations of NH4 + in
the solutions of 100%, 50%, and 20% urine were 4.24, 2.62, and 1.93 mg/l, respectively. After two hours of adsorption,
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

Fig. 4. The effects of adsorption–desorption process by column experiments on EC and pH for Hydroponic solution production from Human urine.
(Initial EC and pH: 16 630 µS/cm and 9.48, respectively; initial solution contained 20%, 50% and 100% human urine).

the adsorption capacity reached 1.23, 0.69,and 0.21 mg/l corresponding the adsorption of 100%, 50%, and 20% urine,
respectively. (Fig. 5a1). Those numbers increased to 2.58, 2.16, and 1.53 mg/l after sixteen hours. Therefore, it is notable
that a significant amount of NH4 + was adsorbed onto coconut shell biochar. Furthermore, the greater concentration of
urine it was, the more NH4 + was adsorbed. The tendency of adsorption capacity toward NO3 − was also similar. The initial
concentrations of NO3 − in 100%, 50%, and 20% urine were 7.25, 3.35, and 1.75 mg/l, respectively. After two hours, the
adsorption capacity reached 1.22, 1.06, and 0.82 mg/l for the adsorption of 100%, 50%, and 20% urine. After sixteen hours,
the numbers recorded were 4.09, 2.47, and 1.39 mg/l, respectively. The coconut shell biochar was capable of adsorbing
these two ions because it possesses carboxylic and lactonic functional groups on the surface. These two groups can interact
with NO3 − , leading to increasing adsorption capacity over time.
After adsorption, desorption experiments were implemented. In the first two hours, the NO3 − content recorded were
37.18, 28.02, and 9.81 mg/l while desorbing the 100%, 50%, and 20% solutions, respectively (Fig. 5b2). After sixteen hours,
the numbers remained with only 9.21, 2.36, and 2.23 mg/l. Therefore, the concentration of NO3 − in the solutions after
desorption is higher than the concentration in the initial urine solutions. This is due to the oxidation of NH4 + when
the biochar settled in environmental conditions after adsorption. The results of this process are that NH4 + was turned
into NO3 − . This also means the solutions after desorption had NH4 + contents much lower compared to the initial urine
solutions. In fact, after two hours of desorbing the biochar from the 100%, 50%, and 20% urine solutions, the content of
NH4 + were only 0.73, 0.50 and 0.18 mg/l, respectively, decreasing to 0.10, 0.07 and 0.05 mg/l after sixteen hour. The study
of Yang and Kim (2020) declared some comparisons in terms of NO3 − concentrations which are allowed in the growth of
some plants such as tomato in a hydroponic system. The point of allowance was 95.50 mg/l. However, in an aquaponics
system, the point of allowance was only 32.50 mg/l. For the cultivation of Romaine lettuce, the acceptable content of
NO3 − is 77.50 mg/l in hydroponics and 32.50 mg/l in aquaponics. Therefore, in this study, the concentration of NO3 − in
the solution after desorption is suitable for a nutrient solution used in hydroponics.

* P2 O5 of hydroponic solution

Fig. 6 demonstrates the adsorption–desorption of P2 O5 . In adsorption conducted on the three formulas of 100%,
50%, and 20% human urine, the concentration of P2 O5 adsorbed after two hours were 138.46, 127.67 and 113.65 mg/l,
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

Fig. 5. The effects of adsorption–desorption process by column experiments on NH4 + (a1, a2) and NO3 − (b1, b2) for Hydroponic solution production
from Human urine. (Initial NH4 + and NO3 − : 2.61 mg/l and 7.24 mg/l, respectively; initial solution contained 20%, 50% and 100% human urine).

Fig. 6. The effects of adsorption–desorption process by column experiments on P2 O5 for Hydroponic solution production from Human urine. (Initial
P2 O5 : 256.87 mg/l; initial solution contained 20%, 50% and 100% human urine).

respectively. While after sixteen hours, the numbers increased to 238.39, 217.17, and 180 mg/l compared to the initial
amounts of P2 O5 in the 3 urine solutions, which were 296.87, 226.87 và 188.85 mg/l corresponding the solutions of 100%,
50%, and 20% urine, respectively. Subsequently, the desorption experiments on the 100%, 50%, and 20% solutions resulted
in the P2 O5 contents of 245.32, 180.84, and 176.95 mg/l after two hours, respectively, and 104.87, 46.20, and 31.87 mg/l
after sixteen hours, respectively. Therefore, it is obvious that the phosphorous forms that are easily consumable for plants
(P2 O5 ) were retained by the coconut-shell activated carbon. Desorption also leads to a significant amount of P2 O5 , which is
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

Fig. 7. Effect of hydroponic solution from Human urine for the growth of Brassica juncea.

convenient to Produce a nutrient solution as P2 O5 is an important compound. The plant would be skinny if there is a lack
of this element. On the other hand, the excess of phosphorus leads to the counter-interaction with other microelements,
especially Potassium (Barben et al., 2010). The content of P2 O5 that is higher then 1.90 mg/L in a non-soil hydroponic
system can maintain the growth of plants (Asher and Loneragan, 1967; Kim et al., 2008; Kim and Li, 2016; Zhang et al.,
2019). Nevertheless, the mobility of P2 O5 in a non-soil cultivation system is unlimited. That is why the content of this
element can reduce significantly. The study of Buso and Bliss (1988) showed that the distribution of P2 O5 in Romaine
lettuce was not affected by hydroponic cultivation systems. It was because the requirement for P2 O5 of Romaine lettuce
was relatively low with a sufficient content of 3 mg/l. Therefore, as the experiments of this study resulted in a good
amount of P2 O5 , the nutrient solution derived from human urine can facilitate the growth of greener and tougher plants
compared to planting in inorganic hydroponic systems. Still, such an amount is suitable for hydroponics.

3.3. Application of hydroponic solution from human urine for the growth of Brassica juncea

Fig. 7 shows the growth parameters of brown mustard cultivated on a hydroponic system using four different nutrient
solutions, including the solutions from 20%, 50%, and 100% urine, and the Hoagland inorganic nutrient solution. The growth
parameters included the height of plants, number of leaves, heights of leaves, and width of leaves. Overall, the recorded
numbers illustrated that all the plants grew well in twenty days of monitoring. Comparing the parameters from the four
formulas, it is clear that the solution derived from 50% urine resulted in the most productive numbers height of plant
is 30.29 cm, leaf number 10.60, leaf length 21.14 cm and leaf width 13.54 cm. The productivity of the plants cultivated
with this solution was also the highest (Table 1) with the numbers of 61.20 g/plant, 1147 kg/1000 m2 , 5.68 kg/5 m2
and 1136 kg/100 m2 , corresponding individual productivity, theoretical productivity, real productivity per 5 m2 , and real
productivity per 1000 m2 . Compared to the productivity of Hoagland’s plants, the differences are insignificant. Therefore,
the nutrient solution from human urine is promising for applications in high-tech agriculture, especially hydroponics. The
difference in terms of plant’s quality existed between the organic and inorganic hydroponic systems. Nevertheless, the
evidence was unclear. Pantanella et al. (2012) observed that the content of chlorophyll in the plants of organic hydroponics
was lower compared to inorganic hydroponics. However, there was no difference spotted after harvest. On the contrary,
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

Table 1
Growth productivity of Brassica juncea by using hydroponic solution from human urine.
Individual productivity Theoretical productivity Real productivity Real productivity
(g/plant) (kg/1000 m2 ) (kg/5.0 m2 ) (kg/1000 m2 )
Hydroponic solution from 20% human urine
49.24c 923.25c 4.22b 843.33b
Hydroponic solution from 50% human urine
61.20b 1147.50b 5.68a 1136.00a
Hydroponic solution from 100% human urine
54.45bc 1021.00bc 4.56b 912.67b
100% Hoagland solution
69.65a 1306.00a 5.83a 1166.67a
P 0.0013 0.0013 0.0018 0.0018
CV (%) 5.65 5.65 5.56 5.56
LSD.05 6.76 126.82 0.56 112.69

Roosta and Hamidpour (2011) reported that the greenish intensity of leaves and the content of chlorophyll were higher in
organic hydroponics. Nevertheless, this study also demonstrated that the heights of aquaponics plants were 25% shorter
compared to the plants of inorganic hydroponics. This loss of productivity involves an inefficiency in utilizing organic-
sourced nutrients. The use of Rhizobacteria offers a promising solution for the shortage and promotes the growth of plants
in organic systems (Mangmang et al., 2015). Graber and Junge (2009) demonstrated a severe lack of potassium in tomatoes
cultivated in hydroponics. Still, such an issue can be resolved with the addition of Potassium Hydroxide into to nutrient
solutions.

3.4. The mechanisms of adsorption–desorption

The adsorption process creating hydroponic nutrient solutions operates in accordance to the adsorption mechanism of
ion exchange and the attachment of ions to the pores (pore filling) and rough structures on the surface of activated carbon,
leading to the new bonds between the ions and the functional groups on the surface. Ultimately, when the surface is fully
occupied, adsorption reaches the saturation point. In this study, after sixteen – eighteen hours, the primary elements that
were adsorbed included NH4 + and NO3 − as ammonium is abundant in human urine. If the pH of urine is greater than 10,
the alkaline environment turns NH4 + into NO3 − . In addition, human urine is also composed of macro, intermediate, and
micro elements that can be beneficial to the plants
Regarding desorption, in the process, the activated carbon is settled in environmental conditions for four days.
This step is to facilitate the transformation of complex compounds adsorbed from urine into simple nutrients through
decomposition. That is why there was the participation of microorganisms, commencing oxidation onto organic nutrients.
Specifically, in this study, the TOC was much lower after desorption compared to the TOC of adsorption, while IC was
higher after desorption. That is a proof of bulky organic compounds turning into inorganic constituents. Microorganisms
also conduct nitrification. In such a reaction, ammonium is oxidized into nitrite. Afterward, nitrite receives electron from
oxygen and transforms into nitrate. This process of oxidation is illustrated through the following chemical reactions (1,
2, and 3) carried out by Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria.

Nitrosomonas:
NH4 + + 1.5 O2 → NO2 − + 2H+ + H2 O (1)
Nitrobacter:
NO2 − + 0.5 O2 → NO3 − (2)
Overall:
NH4 + + 2 O2 → NO3 − + 2H+ + H2 O (3)

From the analyses of this study above, it is obvious that the adsorption of human urine could retain organic compounds
involving NH4 + , NO3 − , and P2 O5 through the formations of chemical bonds with functional groups active on the surface
of the adsorbent. The desorption process also recorded the decrease of organic compounds while NO3 − and P2 O5
increased. This evidence suggests that electromagnetic interactions among the components in adsorption–desorption.
Furthermore, ion exchange also firmly associates with H+ and OH− . The aforementioned process has asserted why NO3 −
after desorption was also higher than NO3 − of adsorption, while NH4 + was lower.
After settling, the biochar was processed with fresh water to release the adsorbed organic compounds, which were
oxidized into inorganic nutrients. It resulted in solutions consisting of NO3 − and P2 O5 . These are two essential elements
for the growth of plants.
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V.Q. Nguyen, H.T. Van, S.H. Le et al. Environmental Technology & Innovation 23 (2021) 101708

4. Conclusion

The utilization of human urine to produce hydroponic nutrient solutions through adsorption–desorption is a new
technique with desirable promises for treating environmental pollution. With the adsorption of human urine onto
coconut-shell biochar and desorption, the result of this study was three types of hydroponic nutrient solutions derived
from three solutions of 20% urine, 50% urine, and 100% urine. The highest numbers of TOC, IC, concentrations of NH4+ ,
NO3− , and P2 O5 obtained were respectively 1610 mg/l, 326.30 mg/l, 2.61 mg/l, 7.24 mg/l, and 256.87 mg/l. The highest
pH and EC were 9.48 and 16 630 µS/cm, respectively. Afterward, the nutrient solutions were applied in a hydroponic
system that cultivated brown mustard. In general, all the plants cultivated with the three solutions grew relatively well
compared to the plants in the inorganic solution. Nevertheless, according to the obtained results, the solution derived
from the adsorption of 50% human urine resulted in the most productive growth parameters. Particularly, the height
of individuals, number of leaves, width of leaves, length of leaves, and net weight were 30.29 cm, 10.60 leaf, 21.14 cm
and 13.54 cm, respectively. The aforementioned results of this study are positive achievements, creating a foundation
for research in more specialized aspects and application in large scales. Moreover, the utilization of human urine for
agricultural nutrients also resolves a significant contaminant that is capable of polluting the environment. Therefore, it is
clear that such a research direction as this study’s offers benefits in multiple fields, including agronomy and environmental
science. As it is still a new area for research, the implementation of further studies is necessary to assert and extend the
method. Nevertheless, without evaluating the effects of factors such as pharmaceutical residues, pathogens, or trace metals
in human urine, this study still has limits. This is an opportunity for research in the future in order to assert the usability
and benefits of human urine as a nutrient solution for agricultural cultivation.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Van Quang Nguyen: Conceptualization, Data curation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing,
Provided critical feedback, Helped shape the research, analysis and manuscript. Huu Tap Van: Conceptualization, Data
curation, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing, Provided critical feedback, Helped shape the
research, analysis and manuscript. Sy Hung Le: Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing -
review & editing, Provided critical feedback, Helped shape the research, analysis and manuscript. The Hung Nguyen:
Funding acquisition, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Provided critical feedback, Helped shape the research,
analysis and manuscript. Huu Tho Nguyen: Funding acquisition, Project administration, Provided critical feedback, Helped
shape the research, analysis and manuscript. Nguyen Thi Lan: Funding acquisition, Project administration, Helped shape
the research, analysis and manuscript. Quoc Toan Pham: Investigation, Methodology, Helped shape the research, analysis
and manuscript. Thi Tuyet Nguyen: Resources, Software, Helped shape the research, analysis and manuscript. Thi Ngo.c
Ha Tran: Formal analysis, Helped shape the research, analysis and manuscript. Thi Bich Hanh Nguyen: Investigation,
Methodology, Helped shape the research, analysis and manuscript. Trung Kien Hoang: Investigation, Methodology, Helped
shape the research, analysis and manuscript.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgments

This work was conducted as part of the research program of the Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry
(TUAF). Research was supported financially by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), Viet Nam through a research
project ‘‘Research, development and application of high technology in the production of typical crops for the Northern
mountainous provinces’’. Grant number: CT2020.03.TNA-05. The authors would like to thank them for their support

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