Device turns human urine into biostimulant for plants

At the Libramont open-air agricultural fair in the Belgian town of the same name, the French company Toopi Organics installed visitor urine collectors in three toilet blocks at the fair. The aim is to recycle this organic liquid and turn it into a “biostimulant” that can be used in agriculture, replacing chemical fertilizers.

Over the four days of the Fair, attended by nearly 200,000 visitors, more than 15,000 liters of urine were collected, which corresponds to 600 hectares of land that could be treated, according to a Belgian reporter, François Gérard, project manager in Belgium for Toopi Organics. As a start-up founded in 2019, Toopi Organics has developed a selective, waterless urine collection system that saves several liters of flushing water. After cleaning and adding sugar, the urine, which contains some natural nutrients, is used as a culture medium to produce bacteria useful for agronomy. Finally, Toopi Organics has a “biostimulant” ready to use.

Some promising trials have been conducted in Belgium on potato or corn plants. Belgium is the first European country to allow Toopi Organics’ biostimulant to be sold. “Lactopi Start” is approved for use on all crops at all stages of growth, with some exceptions, such as on fruits and vegetables that are intended to be eaten raw. The root biostimulant is also approved for use in organic farming.

Toopi Organics is attracting interest in Belgium, from large event organizers, schools, etc. The company plans to build a unit that can treat one million liters of urine per year by 2026 in Belgium, after deploying a first similar unit expected in France in 2025.

According to baotintuc.vn

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