SANSED WORKSHOP - 14-16 June, 2005, CanTho University, Vietnam Toilet designs for rural areas and 1
separated urine collection as a fertilizer source
TOILET DESIGN FOR RURAL AREAS
AND
SEPARATED URINE COLLECTION AS A FERTILIZER SOURCE

Le Anh Tuan
1*
, Joachchim Clemens
2
, Duong Van Ni
3
, Nguyen Thanh Phong
1**1
Department of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, College of
Technology, CanTho University, Campus II, Street 3/2, CanTho City, Vietnam.
* E-mail: , ** E-mail:
2
Institute of Plant Nutrition, University of Boon, Karlrobert-Kreiten-St. 13, D-53115 Bonn,
Germany. E-mail:
3
Mekong Delta Development

Institute, CanTho University, Campus II, Street 3/2,
CanTho City, Vietnam. E-mail:

are using very simple septic tanks or overhung toilets in ponds or rivers (figure 1).

Table 1: Percentage of rural households owning latrines
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
% households
 20
# 30 32 34 37
(Source: L.V. Can, 2003)

SANSED WORKSHOP - 14-16 June, 2005, CanTho University, Vietnam Toilet designs for rural areas and 2
separated urine collection as a fertilizer source
Table 2: Percentage of people accessing water supply and owning latrines
in regions (2001)
Per cent (%)
Regions
Accessing
water supply
Owning
latrines
Mountain area in the North
39
23
Red river delta 50 47
The Northern of central area 44 41
Coastal Central area
42
32

little in the Southern of Vietnam. Humane urine has a high content of nitrogen,
SANSED WORKSHOP - 14-16 June, 2005, CanTho University, Vietnam Toilet designs for rural areas and 3
separated urine collection as a fertilizer source
phosphorous and potassium (Simon, 2002). Thus, if one can separate the urine and find
a suitable to have a mineral fertilizer and then distribute this fertilizer source back to the
cultivated lands, we may achieve one of the goals for a sustainable eco-agricultural
development. So, the main objectives of this report are to introduce:

 A rural toilet design manual, its significance, contents and application.
 An experimental concentration of nutrient in human urine.

2. RURAL TOILET DESIGN MANUAL
Currently, the big gaps between the urban people and the rural people in Vietnam are
their income opportunities, living standards, education and health conditions, and others.
As a result, the farmers are limited to receive enough clean water supply and sanitation
facilities as a social beneficiary. Furthermore, their living habits are directed toward the
simple nature. It is difficult to break the thinking to defecate and urinate to the open fields
in farmers and communities' daily life. In general speaking, there are some reasons
listed that have limited the numbers of rural toilet building:

 Low in-come;
 High cost for a sanitation toilet;
 Lack clean water;
 Hardly to find good building materials;
 Poor awareness in hygiene;
 Not to like to defecate in a cramped toilet;
 Consider human and animal excrement as a source for fish raising;

separated urine collection as a fertilizer source

Figure 2: Cover of rural toilet design manual


Biogas
tank

To raise
fish
To raise
earth

wormTo
keep
Storage
pond

To fertilize
field

To raise
poultry

COLLECTION
USE & REUSE

Food

Man


Human excreta and urine
0,45 - 0,6
0,07 - 0,15
0,60
0,25
0,50
0,13
0,20 - 0,4
0,32 - 0,50
0,2 - 0,7
0,60
0,49
0,37
0,19
0,2 - 0,3
0,5 - 0,6
0,3 - 0,5
0,60
0,48
1,00
0,50
0,5 - 0,8
(Source: Duc (1968), Tâm (1984)

Table 4: Average daily human excretion
Feces (grams) Urine (liters)
Adult:
Man
Woman


For a better understanding the way for urine collection, treatment and application rate in
Vietnam, special in the MD, a proposal research has been established with the steps
(figure 4):
 Designing a suitable urine-diverting units likes a school urine collection blocks.
Collected urine will be stored in designed tank.
 Mixing urine with acid sulfuric for acidifying to reduce microbial contamination
and ammonia emissions.
 Drying the urine by solar and wind energy.
 Collecting "drying urine" as mineral fertilizer and transporting it to the fields.
 Testing applicable using urine fertilizer in some crops.
 Recording all experimental analysis and farmers feedbacks.

SANSED WORKSHOP - 14-16 June, 2005, CanTho University, Vietnam Toilet designs for rural areas and 6
separated urine collection as a fertilizer source


O  (NH
4
)
2
CO
3
+ H
2
O (1)
(NH
4
)
2
CO
3
+ H
2
O  2NH
4
+
+ HCO
3
-
+ OH
-
(2)
NH
4
+
 NH

FOODEating
Glass lid
SANSED WORKSHOP - 14-16 June, 2005, CanTho University, Vietnam Toilet designs for rural areas and 7
separated urine collection as a fertilizer source
4. DISCUSSION
It is necessary to distribute widely the know-how technology to the farmers. The aim of
this research is to help rural communities some available low-cost technical documents.
The rural toilet design manual has finished its final draft and being last edited. We need
a financial support for publication.

A study of separated urine collection and treatment is going on. It is an interesting
research with full of promise in theory but there are some rocky application in practice as
mentions above. Anyway, urine applicable for rural development has very useful and
meaningful not in social economic but also in eco-environmental protection.

5. ACKNOWLEDEMENTS
The authors would like to thank financial support from CTU through his science research
fund for development the manual and Germany Government through the SANSED
project for implementation the urine research. We would also like to acknowledge all the
teaching and support staff of the Department of Environmental and Water Resources
Engineering and HoaAn biodiversity experimental station for their spirit support and
allowance to use the laboratories equipment and facilities for our on-going research.

REFERENCES

and the Pacific.