Urine as a Nitrogen Source for Lepidium sativum: Creation of A Novel Synthetic Urine Testing Model and Product

The Haber-Bosch Process produces a majority of the world's ammonia-based fertilizers.Due to the inherent explosive nature of ammonium nitrate, the requisite fossil fuels, and the massive carbon dioxide (CO) emissions, it is time to evaluate other sources of nitrogen to feed the world's 8 billion people.In many studies, the use of human urine as a fertilizer has been described, but this concept is challenging on many levels.This paper describes a novel method to create, test, and store solid synthetic urine as a fertilizer for Lepidium sativum (garden cress).Garden cress fertilized with synthetic urine had a significantly higher yield in mass than the control group.Synthetic urine in its solid, powdered form decreases storage and transportation issues compared with large volumes of liquid urine.Additionally, this study demonstrates that solid urine is shelf-stable due to its bacteriostatic properties and low hygroscopicity.Fertilizing with human urine can provide a renewable resource in agricultural systems, reducing the need for the Haber Bosch Process and its consequences.