Björn Vinnerås

Professor in Environmnetal Engineering and group leader for the Environmental Engineering group.  
The activity of the research group is regularly blogged about here.

Head of Department of Energy and Technology 

My research focuses on the development of technologies to recycle plant nutrients from the city back to the agricultural fields in an efficient and safe way. I do this mainly within three research areas: hygiene technology, protein production from waste, and rediverting plant nutrients away from sewage systems.

Hygiene technology is an area that we work with in all parts of the research as there is potential risk spreading infection when we recycle plant nutrients. We work with several different treatment techniques for sanitisation; the main technology we have been developing over the last 15 years is ammonia-based sanitisation. The technology has evolved from a general idea to an accepted technique used in the single-use toilet, Peepoo, where you treat from 50 grams of material in a bag, to large scale toilet water treatment, where up to 1,000 cubic meters of toilet water are treated.

Protein production from waste is mainly produced by fly larva composting and vermicomposting. In Sweden, we have focused on fly larvae composting where the fly larvae consume the food waste. The larvae are then used as feed in the production of fish and poultry, where it can replace the protein and fat in soy and fishmeal. Today we have a partnership with Eskilstuna and Strängnäs Energy and Environment, where we have developed a plant for processing the waste at full scale.

Source separating sanitation focus on the household's most nutrient rich fraction, the toilet waste. We are working to with different methods to hygienize the toilet waste in a simple way to then return it as a fertilizer. Currently, we have full-scale projects in  cooperation with Uddevalla municipality and Västvatten, Sweden.In development is urine drying, where we chemically stabilize the urine and then dry the urine using the bathroom's ventilation. In this way, urine can produce a dry concentrated fertilizer that has plant nutrient concentrations similar to commercial mineral fertilizer (more than 15% nitrogen).

Principal supervisor

Active PhD students

Jenna Senecal: No waste toilet. 2014 January-

Luis Fernando Peres Mercado: Hygienically safe wastewater irrigation in Cochabamba valley, Bolivia, 2014 March-

Alice Isibika: Fly larvae composting of banana food industry by-products. 2016 September-

Prithvi Simha: Urine drying. 2016, September-

Chea Eliyan:Nutrient recycling. 2019 September-

Finalised students

Dr Annika Nordin: Ammonia sanitisation of human excreta. 2006 April-2011 August.

Dr Allan Komakech: Fertiliser and energy production potential from generated waste in Kampala, Uganda. Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and SLU ,2010 October – 2014 October

Dr Jörgen Fidjeland: Ammonia Sanitisation of faecal sludge, using intrinsic ammonia. SLU, 2010 September- 2015 Maj.

Deputy supervisor

Dr Eva Emmoth. Short title: Inactivation technologies for viruses in agricultural waste. SLU, Department of virology. 2006 Jan – 2015 October

Dr Joel Kinobe, Short title: Waste logistics in Kampala, Uganda. Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and SLU, Department of Energy & Technology,2010 June – 2015 September

Dr Sahar Dalahmeh, Short title: Greywater treatment using mulch beds. SLU. Department of Energy & Technology, 2008 Aug- June 2013.

Dr Maria Elise Magri, Short title: Dry faecal management and reuse. Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. One year Exchange PhD candidate at SLU, April 2011-12. 2009 February – 2013 March.

Dr Josefine Elving, Short title: Pathogen behaviour in organic waste. SLU, Department of veterinary medicine. 2007 November- 2012 December

Dr Ligia Cruz, Short title: Ammonia treatment in double vault urine diversion latrines. University of South Florida, College of Public Health, Department of Global Health. 2008 October-2010 December.

Dr Phi Vo Thi Yen, Short title: Hygiene and microbial risks in biogas digestion. University of Bonn, Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, and Can Tho University Viet Nam. 2007 January-2010 December.

Dr Charles Niwagaba, Short title: Excreta treatment technologies. Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and SLU, Department of Energy & Technology, 2004 Feb–2009 December

Totalt 78 publications. H value 20 in ISI Web of Science

Researchgate

Google scholar

Simha, P., Lalander, C., Vinnerås, B., Ganesapillai, M. 2017. Farmer attitudes and perceptions to the re-use of fertiliser products from resource-oriented sanitation systems - The case of Vellore, South India. STOTEN in press.

Fidjeland, J., Nordin, A., Vinnerås, B. 2016. Inactivation of Ascaris eggs and Salmonella spp. in fecal sludge by treatment with urea and ammonia solution. Water and Sanitation for Development. 6:3 pp 465-473.

Nordin, A., Vinnerås, B., 2015. Sanitising black water by auto-thermal aerobic digestion (ATAD) combined with ammonia treatment. Water Science & Technology 72(12) pp 2112-2121.

Fidjeland, J., Nordin, A., Pecson, B.M., Nelson, K. L., Vinnerås, B. 2015. Modeling the inactivation of ascaris eggs as a function of ammonia concentration and temperature. Water research, 83 pp 153-160.

Kinobe, J. R., Bosona, T., Gebresenbet, G., Niwagaba, C. B., Vinnerås, B. 2015. Optimization of waste collection and disposal in Kampala city. Habitat international. 49 pp 126-137.

Kinobe, J. R., Gebresenbet, G., Niwagaba, C. B., Vinnerås, B. 2015. Reverse logistics system and recycling potential at a landfill: A case study from Kampala City. Waste Management, 42 pp 82-92.

Komakech, A. J., Zurbrügg, C., Semakula, D., Kiggundu, N., Vinnerås, B. 2015. Evaluation of the performance of different organic fertilizers on maize yield: a case study of Kampala, Uganda. Journal of Agricultural Science (Toronto), 7:11 pp 28-38.

Lalander, C.H., Fidjeland, J., Diener, S., Eriksson, S., Vinnerås, B. 2015. High waste-to-biomass conversion and efficient Salmonella spp. reduction using black soldier fly for waste recycling. Agronomy for Sustainable Development. 35:1 pp 261-271.

Komakech, A., L., Sundberg, C., Jönsson, H., Vinnerås, B., 2015. Life cycle assessment of biodegradable waste treatment systems for sub-Saharan African cities. Resources Conservation and Recycling, 99 pp 100-110.

Karlsson, S.C., Langergraber, G., Pell, M., Dalahmeh, S., Vinnerås, B., Jönsson, H. 2015. Simulation and verification of hydraulic properties and organic matter degradation in sand filters for greywater treatment. Water Science and Technology. 71:3 pp 426-433.

Lalander, C.H., Komakech, A., Vinnerås, B. 2015. Vermicomposting as manure management strategy for urban small-holder animal farms - Kampala case study. Waste Management. 39 pp 96-103.

Kinobe, J. R., Gebresenbet, G., Niwagaba, C. B., Vinnerås, B. 2015. Mapping out the solid waste generation and collection models: The case of Kampala City. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Associatation, 65:2 pp 197-205.

Nordin, A., Olsson, J., Vinnerås, B. Urea for sanitisation of anaerobically digested, dewatered sewage sludge. Environmental Engineering Science, 32:2 pp 86-94.

Lalander, C., Dalahmeh, S., Jönsson, H., Vinnerås, B. 2015, Hygienic quality of artificial greywater subjected to aerobic treatment - comparison of three filter media under increasing organic loading rate. Environmental Technology (In Press)

Magri, M., Fidjeland, J., Jönsson, H., Albihn, A., Vinnerås, B. 2015. Inactivation of Adenovirus, Reovirus and Bacteriophages in Faecal Sludge by pH and Ammonia. Science of the Total Environment, 520, 213-221 DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.03.035

Fidjeland, J., Svensson, S-E., Vinnerås, B. 2015. Ammonia sanitization of blackwater for safe use as fertilizer. Water Science & Technology. 71:5 pp 795-800.