Overview

Background

While urine accounts for less than 1% of total wastewater volume, it contains 50–80% of all the nutrients in wastewater – and these components have to be degraded at wastewater treatment plants. Many micropollutants, i.e. residues of pharmaceuticals and hormones from human metabolism, also enter wastewater via urine. Urine source separation could simplify – or remove the need for – nutrient elimination at wastewater treatment plants. Nutrients recovered from urine could be recycled to agriculture, and micropollutants directly removed. The NoMix technology helps to save water and increases the flexibility of the entire wastewater management system. It could thus make a significant contribution to resolving global water pollution control issues. [...]

Novaquatis – a cross-cutting Eawag project

Novaquatis comprises nine work packages, largely organized around the various stages of a nutrient cycle (see Figure).
The main results of Novaquatis are summarized in the final report "NoMix – A new approach to urban water management " (pdf, 3.7 MB) and on this homepage:

• Are you interested in the research results of Novaquatis? Get an overview of the nine work packages and find some interesting information in the detailed reports (e.g. Nova 1).
  
• Would you like to conduct a NoMix pilot project yourself? Helpful information is summarized in our "Practical guide".
  
• Further details can be found in the Novaquatis publications.