In some embodiments, the arrangement and configuration of the transition conduit and the first venting conduit may be such that a natural negative air pressure is created between the collection conduit and an outside venting location (e.g., outside air flow over an external vent and an upward slope on the transition conduit from the side opening of the collection conduit to the first opening of the first venting conduit may act to create a natural source of negative air pressure). In other embodiments, the first venting conduit may include, or be connected to, an exhaust fan which is configured to pull air through the first venting conduit away from the collection conduit (e.g., creating a negative air pressure which pulls odors and gases toward an outside venting location). In such embodiments, the exhaust fan may be disposed within and in-line with the first venting conduit. In other embodiments, the exhaust fan may be disposed external to and proximate the second end of the first venting conduit (i.e., at an end of the first venting conduit closest to an external vent location).

In some embodiments, the storage conduit may be disposed such that it provides a downward slope from the first end of the storage conduit (i.e., the end of the storage conduit connected to the collection conduit) toward the second end of the storage conduit (i.e., the end of the storage conduit opposite the collection conduit, perhaps leading to a storage location). In some embodiments, the downward slope of the storage conduit may be greater than or equal to 1:12, or greater than or equal to 1:10, or greater than or equal to 1:8, or greater than or equal to 1:6.

For the purposes of this specification, the slope of a conduit shall be specified as a pair of numbers separated by a colon, where the first number (to the left of the colon) is the amount of height (or vertical) change and the second number is the amount of conduit “run” or horizontal change. For example, a conduit slope of 1:12 shall be interpreted as a slope in the conduit wherein for every 1 centimeter of height change for the conduit, there should be 12 centimeters of run or horizontal change. For a slope to be greater than a specified slope (e.g., “greater than 1:12”), that means the slope must be steeper than the specified slope, or have a greater height change relative to the run change. For example, a slope of 1:8 is steeper than a slope of 1:12, as there is 1 centimeter of height change for every 8 centimeters of run. Stated another way, if you increase the height change of a slope (increase the first number) from 1:12 to 2:12 (which can be reduced to 1:6), you have a slope that is twice as steep. In general, a steeper slope will aid the draining or transit of a fluid through a conduit than a shallower slope through the same conduit, because of gravity. For the purposes of this specification, the terms “pitch” and “slope” shall be considered to be interchangeable (i.e., a “pitch of 1:12” has the same meaning as a “slope of 1:12”). The legend at the bottom of FIG. 3 provides a graphic definition of slope/pitch.

In some embodiments, the storage conduit may be substantially linear between the first end of the storage conduit and the second end of the storage conduit (i.e., there are no significant bends or drain traps in the length of the storage conduit). In some embodiments, the storage conduit may include a first section and a second section, where the first section is substantially linear in a first direction and a second section is substantially linear in a second, different location. In some embodiments, the downward slope of the first section is steeper than the downward slope of the second section. For example, the downward slope of the first section of the storage conduit may be substantially vertical, and the downward slope of the second section may be greater than or equal to about 1:12.

In some embodiments, the urine-harvesting urinal may further include a lid configured to cover the top opening of the collection conduit. The lid may be configured such that it substantially covers the top opening of the collection conduit but is not airtight when in the closed position, allowing for a continual intake of air around the lid due to the negative air pressure generated by the first venting conduit. In some embodiments, the urine-harvesting urinal may further include an operator control which can be used to selectively open and/or close the lid. For example, the operator control may be a button disposed on an exterior surface of the urine-harvesting urinal (e.g., a “shin-bump” switch which may be activated by a forward movement of the user's leg).

According to some aspects of the present description, a urine-harvesting system includes a urine-harvesting urinal according to the present description, an external venting conduit, and at least one storage tank. The external venting conduit has a first opening near a first end of the external venting conduit and a second opening near a second end of the external venting conduit. The first opening of the external venting conduit is connected to the second opening of a first venting conduit of the urine-harvesting urinal, and the second opening of the external venting conduit is open and disposed to release gases traveling through the external venting conduit into a safe exhaust location (e.g., into an outside location). The at least one storage tank is connected to the second end of the storage conduit.

In some embodiments, the storage tank may be a sealed, airtight, ventless tank. In some embodiments, the storage tank may be buried in a location external to the location of the urine-harvesting urinal (e.g., in a location outside a building housing the urine-harvesting urinal). The use of a sealed, airtight, ventless tank may enable the elimination of a physical drain “trap” (e.g., a u-bend in the drainage pipes) which can allow the urine to drain into the tank quickly and with a minimum of solid residue accumulation in the drainage pipes.

In some embodiments, as described elsewhere herein, the arrangement and configuration of the transition conduit and the first venting conduit of the urine-harvesting urinal may be such that a natural negative air pressure is created between the collection conduit and the external venting conduit (e.g., outside air flow over the second end of the external venting conduit and the upward slope on the transition conduit may act to create a natural source of negative air pressure). In other embodiments, the urine-harvesting system may include an exhaust fan which is configured to pull air through the first venting conduit away and into the external venting conduit (e.g., creating a negative air pressure which pulls odors and gases toward the external venting conduit). In such embodiments, the exhaust fan may be disposed within and in-line with the first venting conduit. In other embodiments, the exhaust fan may be disposed within and in-line with the external venting conduit. In still other embodiments, the exhaust fan may be disposed between the second opening of the first venting conduit and the first opening of the external venting conduit. In some embodiments, the external venting conduit may be disposed such that it has a steep upward slope from the first end of the external venting conduit to the second end of the external venting conduit (e.g., a substantially vertical slope leading to an outside, roof-mounted vent location).

In some embodiments, the storage conduit may be substantially linear between the first end of the storage conduit and the second end of the storage conduit. For example, in some embodiments, the downward slope of the storage conduit (between the bottom opening of the collection conduit and the storage tank) may be greater than or equal to 1:12, or greater than or equal to 1:10, or greater than or equal to 1:8, or greater than or equal to 1:6. In some embodiments, the storage conduit may include a first section and a second section, wherein the first section is substantially linear in a first direction, and the second section is substantially linear in a second, different direction. For example, the downward slope of the second section of the storage conduit may be greater than or equal to about 1:12, and the downward slope of the first section may be greater than the downward slope of the second section (and, in some embodiments, the downward slope of the first section may be substantially vertical).

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a side view of a urine-harvesting urinal, according to the present description. In some embodiments, a urine-harvesting urinal 100 includes a collection conduit 10, a first venting conduit 20, a transition conduit 55 (please see FIG. 4 for transition conduit 55), and a storage conduit 30. In some embodiments, urine-harvesting urinal 100 may further include an external venting conduit 25 connected to first venting conduit 20 and configured to transport gases created within urine-harvesting urinal 100 to a venting location. In some embodiments, the collection conduit 10 may include an upper section 10a and a lower section 10b. In such embodiments, upper section 10a provides the function of collecting urine from a user and directing it into lower section 10b (e.g., it may act as a funnel, providing a top opening that is sufficiently large to catch the urine stream). In some embodiments, collection conduit 10 may be substantially shaped as a funnel, as shown in FIG. 1, with a larger top opening and a smaller bottom opening. However, the collection conduit 10 may have any other appropriate shape, including that of a cylinder or a square conduit, for example. In some embodiments, collection conduit 10 may be a single piece, where upper section 10a and lower section 10b are merged into a single component (e.g., a single larger funnel piece).

In some embodiments, urine-harvesting urinal 100 may further include a lid 40, disposed to substantially cover a top opening in collection conduit 10. In some embodiments, lid 40 may provide a substantially gapless but not airtight perimeter around the top opening of the collection conduit 10. In some embodiments, urine-harvesting urinal 100 may further include an operator control 50 which, when activated, provides a signal to an electric motor 42 or similar mechanism which may open and/or close lid 40. In some embodiments, a first activation of operator control 50 may open lid 40 for use, and a second activation of operator control 50 may close lid 40. In some embodiments, the lid 40 may be opened and closed manually, by a user pulling the lid open or pushing it closed. In such embodiments, lid 40 may further include a feature (e.g., a handle, pull, knob, etc.) or manual mechanism (e.g., a mechanical lever, latch, catch, etc.) that may be operated by the user to open and close lid 40 manually. In embodiments featuring an operator control 50 and a corresponding mechanism (e.g., electric motor 42) for opening and closing lid 40, a user may be able to manually override the mechanism by manually opening and closing lid 40.

In some embodiments, storage conduit 30 may have a first section 30a and a second section 30b. In some embodiments, first section 30a may be substantially vertical (e.g., providing a vertical or nearly vertical drop from the bottom of collection funnel 10 of urine into second section 30b). In some embodiments, first section 30a may have a slope that is greater than (steeper than) or equal to 10:1, or 12:1, or 20:1, or 50:1. In some embodiments, second section 30b may have a downward slope that is at least 1:12 or steeper to provide adequate transportation of urine to a storage tank (see FIG. 3).

FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of the urine-harvesting urinal of FIG. 1 and provides additional details on many of the components. Components with like-numbered labels common to both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 shall be assumed to have a similar function unless otherwise specified, and therefore descriptions of these components may not be repeated from FIG. 1. Looking at FIG. 2, urine-harvesting urinal 100 may include a collection conduit 10 (which may have an upper section 10a and a lower section 10b), a first venting conduit 20, a transition conduit 55 (please see FIG. 4 for transition conduit 55), and a storage conduit 30. In some embodiments, a lid 40 may cover a top opening 11 of collection conduit 10, and may, in some embodiments, be attached to top opening 11 via a flange 40a. In some embodiments, collection conduit 10 has a top opening 11 and a bottom opening 12. In some embodiments, collection conduit 10 may include upper section 10a with top opening 11 and second bottom opening 12a, and lower section 10b with bottom opening 12 and second top opening 11a. In such embodiments, the second bottom opening 12a of upper section 10a may interface to and communicate fluidically with second top opening 11a of lower section 10b.

In some embodiments, bottom opening 12 of collection conduit 10 interfaces to and communicates fluidically with a first opening 31 of storage conduit 30. Urine deposited in top opening 11 of collection conduit 10 passes through collection conduit 10, exits collection conduit 10 through bottom opening 12, and passes into first opening 31 of storage conduit 30. The urine passes through first section 30a of storage conduit 30 into second section 30b of storage conduit 30 and exits storage conduit 30 via second opening 32 (where it may enter an external storage tank 60, as shown in FIG. 3).

Odors and other gases created within the urine-harvesting urinal 100 may be drawn out of the system via a negative air pressure created within first venting conduit 20. Gases/vapors are pulled into a first opening 21 of first venting conduit 20, pass through venting conduit 20, and exit venting conduit 20 via second opening 22. Gases/vapors may then enter an external venting conduit 25 via first opening 26 and exit external venting conduit 25 via second opening 27.

FIG. 3 provides a side view of a urine-harvesting system 300 including urine-harvesting urinal 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2. In some embodiments, urine-harvesting system 300 includes urine-harvesting urinal 100, an external venting conduit 25, and one or more storage tanks 60, connected to urine-harvesting urinal 100 by storage conduit 30. In some embodiments, storage tank 60 may be located in an external location (e.g., outside of a structure housing urine-harvesting urinal 100) and may be buried in the ground. In some embodiments, storage tank 60 may be a sealed, airtight, ventless tank, which collects urine through storage conduit 30 but does not allow gases/vapors to exit storage tank 60. In some embodiments, a minimum slope or pitch for storage conduit 30 (or at least second section 30b of storage conduit 30) may be at least 1:12, to allow for relatively quick transfer of the urine to storage tank 60 in order to minimize sedimentation and settling of minerals (and loss of nutrients from the collected urine) in the storage conduit 30. Collected urine may then be removed from storage tank 60 as needed and applied directly to agricultural crops and other plants.

FIG. 4A provides a front view of a collection conduit 10 for a urine-harvesting urinal, showing additional details. In some embodiments, collection conduit 10 may include an upper section 10a and a lower section 10b (although, in other embodiments, these two sections may be combined into a one-piece collection conduit 10). In some embodiments, collection conduit 10 has a top opening 11, a bottom opening 12, and a side opening 14. It should be noted that side opening 14 is an opening in the side of lower section 10b which leads into transition conduit 55, and is not visible in FIG. 4B (although its approximate location is indicated). Side opening 14 may be more clearly seem in FIG. 4B, which shows only lower section 10b of collection conduit 10, rotated 90 degrees so that side opening 14 is facing out of the page. Side opening 14 is shown in FIG. 4B as a rectangular hole in the side of lower section 10b. However, side opening 14 may be any appropriate shape required to mate with an opening of transition conduit 55 (e.g., a round or elliptical opening to mate to a corresponding cylindrical transition conduit 55).

Transition conduit 55 connects side opening 14 to corresponding first opening 21 in first venting conduit 20. It should be noted that, in the perspective of FIG. 4A, first venting conduit 20 extends into the page (i.e., away from the viewer) and therefore is seen only as a circular cross section in FIG. 4A. First opening 21 and first venting conduit 20 can be seen in additional detail in FIGS. 1-3.

In some embodiments, an operator control 50 for opening lid 40 (see FIG. 1) may be disposed on an external surface of the urine-harvesting urinal. In FIG. 4A, operator control 50 is shown mounted on an external closed surface of first venting conduit 20. However, operator control 50 may be located in any appropriate position, and may be, for example, a foot-operated switch, a shin-bump switch, a pushbutton, a hand control, or a simple mechanical handle used to open lid 40.

FIG. 5 is a cutaway view of a portion of a collection conduit 10 (or, in some embodiments, lower section 10b of collection conduit 10) showing additional internal details, as well as fluid flow patterns. In some embodiments, urine 72 is deposited into first opening 11/11a of collection conduit 10/10b. The sides of collection conduit 10/10b act to direct urine 72 toward bottom opening 12, where urine 72 exits collection conduit 10/10b (e.g., passing into storage conduit 30). The sides of collection conduit 10/10b should be disposed at an angle steep enough to facilitate the transfer of urine 72 through the bottom opening 12, and may be steeply slanted in a funnel shape or may be substantially vertical.

In some embodiments, a transition conduit may connect side opening 14 in collection conduit 10/10b to a corresponding opening (e.g., first opening 21) in first venting conduit 20. It should be noted that, although first opening 21 is shown in FIGS. 1-2 as an open end of first venting conduit 20, first opening 21 may also be an opening in the side of first venting conduit 20. It should also be noted that some of the figures may show transitional pieces (e.g., fixture pieces, such as collars, flanges, or adaptors) which are not separately labeled and are assumed to be either extensions of other conduit components or standard hardware/fixtures known in the industry, and therefore not described herein.

In some embodiments, gases/vapors 70, which may come from within the collection conduit 10/10b or up from storage conduit 30, may be drawn up into side opening 14, through transition conduit 55, and into first venting conduit 20. In some embodiments, first venting conduit 20 may possess a negative air pressure, which works to draw gases/vapors 70 out of collection conduit 10/10b toward an external venting location. In some embodiments, this negative air pressure may be created naturally (e.g., without an exhaust fan) by the arrangement of the components and conduits. For example, in some embodiments, transition conduit 55 may have an upward slope leading from side opening 14 up into first venting conduit 20, and first venting conduit 20 may be in turn connected to a substantially vertical external venting conduit leading to an external venting location. This arrangement and configuration of components and conduits may create a natural flow of air from inside the collection conduit 10/10b to the external venting location.

In other embodiments, the creation of a negative air pressure may be aided by an exhaust fan or similar electrical or mechanical device. For example, FIGS. 6A-6C show various embodiments of a portion of urine-harvesting urinal 100 showing different installation locations for an exhaust fan 80. In FIG. 6A, an exhaust fan 80 is disposed within and in-line with first venting conduit 20. Gases/vapors 70 are drawn through exhaust fan 80 and first venting conduit 20 and pass into external venting conduit 25 such that they are released via second opening 27 of external venting conduit 25. In FIG. 6B, exhaust fan 80 is disposed between first venting conduit 20 and external venting conduit 25 (e.g., in a bend/fixture connecting the conduits). In FIG. 6C, exhaust fan 80 is disposed within and in-line with external venting conduit 25.

Further, FIG. 7 illustrates the use of an operator control for use with a urine-harvesting urinal 100, according to the present description. As described elsewhere herein, urine-harvesting urinal 100 may have an externally-mounted operator control 50 for opening and closing lid 40. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7, operator control 50 may be a shin-bump switch which is activated by the forward movement of the front part 210 (e.g., a knee or shin) of a leg of a user 200. A shin-bump switch is one example only, and not intended to be limiting. Operator control 50 may be any appropriate operator control (e.g., a pushbutton, a foot switch, etc.) and may be disposed in any external location relative to the urine-harvesting urinal 100 (including on an external surface of the urine-harvesting urinal 100 or in a remote location, not physically in contact with the urine-harvesting urinal 100).

Additional embodiments of the system and method can further comprise at least one bin to collect humanure. FIG. 8 illustrates another embodiment of a urine harvesting urinal 300. The urine harvesting urinal 300 of FIG. 8 can comprise a base 301, a seat 303, and a lid 305. As described throughout the application, the urine harvesting urinal 300 can be connected to at least one storage tank. In some embodiments, the system can comprise a plurality of urine harvesting urinals. Various configurations of the urine harvesting urinals can be used within the system as described herein. Urine which flows from one or more toilet(s) to (a) drain pipe(s) which can be configured to connect with (a) drain pipe(s) from one or more companion urine harvesting urinal(s) for females and (a) urinal(s) for males installed in any given structure to one of at least two ventless tanks. In one embodiment, the storage tank can comprise a 200 gallon vessel. In other embodiments other sized containers can be used depending on the use characteristics and storage area provided for the ventless tanks.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exploded side view of the urine-harvesting urinal 300 of FIG. 8 and provides additional details on many of the components. The urine-harvesting urinal 300 comprises a base 301, a mounting plate 307, a funnel 309, a screen 311, a deflector plate 313, a seat 303, a hinge 315, and a lid 305. The mounting plate 307 can be used to mount the base 301 to a floor or other structure. The funnel 309 can sit within the base 301 and direct urine to another portion of the system as described herein. The screen 311 and deflector plate 313 can sit within the funnel 309 and screen contaminants and direct urine within the system. The seat 303 can sit on top of the base 301. The lid 305 can couple to the seat 303 with the hinge 315 and can cover an opening in the base 301.

FIG. 10 provides a side view of a urine-harvesting system 321 including a urine-harvesting urinal 300 of FIGS. 8 and 9. In some embodiments, urine-harvesting system 321 includes urine-harvesting urinal 300, an external venting conduit 323, a first storage tank 325, and a second storage tank 327, connected to urine-harvesting urinal 300 by storage conduit 329 In some embodiments, the first storage tank 325 and second storage tank 327 may be located in an external location (e.g., outside of a structure housing urine-harvesting urinal 300) and may be buried in the ground. In some embodiments, the first storage tank 325 and second storage tank 327 may each be a sealed, airtight, ventless tank, which collects urine through storage conduit 329 but does not allow gases/vapors to exit THE storage tank. In some embodiments, a minimum slope or pitch for at least a portion of the storage conduit 329 can be at least 1:12, to allow for relatively quick transfer of the urine to one of the storage tanks in order to minimize sedimentation and settling of minerals (and loss of nutrients from the collected urine) in the storage conduit 329. Collected urine may then be removed from either the first storage tank 325 or the second storage tank 327 as needed and applied directly to agricultural crops and other plants. The external venting conduit can further comprise a first venting conduit 331 and aa venting opening 333. The venting opening 333 can be used to move air away from the urine harvesting urinal 300 as described herein.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10 at least two ventless tanks are required at each site to allow the urine to remain stored for at least 60 days to assure safe handling. Urine flowing from one or more devices in the structure could possibly carry pathogens which would then flow into the tank. As the urine flows to the tank the nitrogen rich urea begins to degrade. This degradation continues and the urea is converted to ammonia in which the nitrogen then resides. The pH in the tank climbs to near 10. This basic environment will eventually destroy any pathogens that may have been suspended in the ammonified solution. Sixty days will assure that the solution is pathogen free. With at least two tanks at a given site then one tank is available to receive the urine flow from the device(s) while the contents in the other tank is “self-sanitizing”. In other embodiments, a full or partially full ventless tank can be removed for storage while a new tank is installed to collect urine from the system.

The urine can be stored in sealed ventless tanks so as to maintain a constant vacuum in the tanks by the fan and/or the chimney effect created in the exhaust vent. As mentioned above this is an important step because the most valuable portion of the urine in terms of its fertilizer value is the nitrogen. Because the nitrogen resides in the ammonia in the stored urine it should not be allowed to be exposed to the atmosphere or the ammonia would volatilize and the nitrogen in it would be lost. However, in some embodiments, exposure can occur, but decreased yield should be expected.

FIG. 11 illustrates another portion of a bodily waste harvesting system 400. The bodily waste harvesting system 400 can comprise a waste harvesting toilet 401, a chute 403, an enclosure 405, an enclosure base 407, and a vent pipe 409. The waste harvesting toilet 401 can comprise a base 409 and a lid 411 as described herein. The chute 403 can direct solid waste from the waste harvesting toilet 401 to at least one bin within the enclosure 405. The vent pipe 409 can direct air away from the enclosure 405 and waste harvesting toilet 401.

In one embodiment, a bracket/holder can be attached to a lower surface of the seat, located behind the opening and following the contour of the back of the opening in the seat. This bracket/holder can allow placement of a removable contoured shield whose purpose it is to deflect and prevent fecal material from coming into contact with the chute assembly. The shield can comprise a top flange perpendicular to its vertical contoured surface so that it can easily be removed for cleaning and replaced afterwards by sliding it out of and back into the contoured bracket/holder attached to the lower surface of the seat.

In another embodiment, beneath the seat, the toilet base can sit on and is fastened to the floor. It bears the weight of the seat and user. The fluted, tapered shape provides the greatest compression strength with least amount of material. The shape makes the toilet base stackable, which along with its light weight can reduce shipping costs. The base can be made of ABS plastic (or other material with similar physical properties) and can be shaped employing vacuum thermoforming methodology, as is the aforementioned chute assembly comprising a chute in two parts and a deep funnel shaped urinal.

The seat can rest on top of the chute assembly and the toilet base. The chute assembly can extend through the floor to which the toilet base is fastened. The chute assembly can be fastened to the top of a thermophilic aerobic digester (TAD) cabinet enclosure, which rests on a TAD enclosure base, which rests on the floor of the story or lower level directly beneath the toilet base in the structure in which it is installed.

An inline fan can be located in the exhaust vent pipe. In one embodiment, the inline fan can run continuously. The inline fan can be positioned at the point where the vent pipe starts a vertical ascent without hindrance of bends, terminating outside of the structure where the toilet is installed. In one embodiment, the vent pipe can terminate through the roof of the structure in which it is installed. The termination of the exhaust pipe can be in a position where the airflow will not likely be impeded by downdrafts i.e. above or near the highest point of the roof.

This exhaust system can continually pull air through the air inlet on the lower, left side of the TAD which assures that there is a constant supply of air flowing through the TAD. It also produces a negative air pressure within the TAD, which means when the toilet lid opens there is a downdraft at the opening in the seat. Therefore, use of the toilet can be completely odorless.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exploded view of an internal portion of the chute 403 of FIG. 11. The internal chute 451 can comprise a chute back 453, a divider 455, and a urinal funnel plate 457. The divider 455 can separate solid waste from urine as it enters the chute and direct solid waste to the enclosure while urine is directed to a urine harvesting system as described herein. The cross-sectional shape of the chute assembly can be defined by the opening in the toilet seat with the chute assembly cross-section deeper in the back portion, and truncated across the front portion in a straight line shared by the back of the urinal funnel, forming a septum between the chute and the urinal funnel for the length of the chute.

FIG. 13 illustrates the waste harvesting system 400 of FIG. 11 without the outer enclosure. The waste harvesting system 400 can comprise a waste harvesting toilet 401, a chute 403, a first movable bin 421, a second movable bin 423, a vent pipe 409, and an enclosure base 407. The TAD enclosure cabinet can house two identical movable bins described as follows: Four dual-wheel casters can be mounted at the corners on the bottom of a square aluminum base plate. Four aluminum angles can be welded at the four corners to stand perpendicular to the base plate. At the top of the four vertical aluminum angles, four horizontal angles can be welded to effectively create a cube of the eight angles with the square base plate making one side of the cube. On top of each corner of the top of that aforementioned cube an isosceles triangle gusset plate can be welded to provide structural strength to the cube. In the gusset plate on the front right side of each movable bin assembly there can be two holes through which thermal (high temperature) hose is run to hold the hose in place. The cross-section of the bins can be determined by that of the chute as described above. In the illustrated embodiment it is more than twice as tall as the width of the aluminum angle cube within which the bins stand. The cross-section of the bins can vary in other embodiments. The function of the bins is to receive and contain feces, toilet paper and a carbonaceous additive i.e. sawdust, rice hulls, chopped crop residue, peat moss etc.

As described herein, urine can be captured by the urine funnel situated directly under the front portion of the opening that functions simultaneously as both a drain and a vacuum system to prevent valuable nitrogen bearing ammonia gasses from escaping into the atmosphere. The funnel can be connected to the chute near the top of the chute where they share a straight intersection along the front of the chute and back of the funnel to form a septum that separates the two components (chute in the back—funnel in the front). The bottom of the deep funnel culminates in a conduit in which the urine is conveyed to one of at least two ventless storage tanks as described herein. The configuration of the exhaust system discussed above creates a vacuum in the urine storage tanks precisely because they are ventless. The vacuum is needed to prevent the nitrogen bearing ammonia from volatilizing and escaping through the exhaust vent and into the atmosphere.

FIG. 14 illustrates an enclosure 501. The enclosure 501, can comprise a first side panel 503, a second side panel, a first door 507, a second door 509, a top panel 511, a chute opening 513, and a vent opening 515. In one embodiment, the 2 side panels; 1 top panel; 1 back panel; 1 base panel; and 2 hinged doors opposite the back panel which comprises the front of the TAD cabinet enclosure, can comprise double-walled with insulating material between the walls. The top panel can comprise six openings. One through which the chute assembly can pass and terminate just inside the top panel to which the chute assembly is attached via a flange. This opening can located on the left side of the top panel while facing the front or door-side of the TAD. The second opening can be located on the right side of the top panel. This opening can be for an air exhaust vent which is attached also via a flange to the top panel. Finally, there are four openings through which four plumbing pipes pass; two on the left front side of the top panel and the other just right of center on the right front top. Finally, located on the lower, left side panel there is an air inlet opening. This positioning can be altered in various embodiments according to structural considerations.

FIG. 15 illustrates a movable bin assembly 601 as described herein. The movable bin assembly 601 can comprise a movable bin 603 and bin carrier 605. The movable bin 603 can comprise an outer covering 607, a collection area 609, a first thermal hose 611, and a second thermal hose 613. The first thermal hose 611 and second thermal hose 613 can direct water to a water circulation system within the movable bin 603, under the outer covering 607, and around the collection area 609 of the movable bin 603.

FIG. 16 illustrates the movable bin assembly 601 of FIG. 15 with the outer covering removed. The movable bin 603 can comprise the collection area 609, the first thermal hose 611, the second thermal hose 613, and a hose coil 615. The hose coil 615 can surround the collection area 609 and direct water or other thermal carrier from the first thermal hose 611 to the second thermal hose 613 while heating or cooling the collection area through heat transfer.

In one embodiment, inner and outer guide rods run through the square bin base plate and the bin top plate which sits atop a 0.75-inch diameter thermal hose coil that is tapped into a flat pan tank that sits on the bin base plate. The thermal hose encircles a vertically slotted inner-sleeve from the base plate at the bottom to the top of the guide rods and bin top plate. A vertically slotted outer-sleeve covers this assembly (from the inside) comprising: 1.) the inner-sleeve; 2.) the inner guide rods; 3.) the encircling hose coil; 4.) the outer guide rods and; 5.) a fitted woven natural fiber sack. The encircling hose (starting at the base) is coiled with 0.25-inch gaps between coils for the first 5 coils. Starting at the 6th coil the gaps expand to 0.75 inch between coils to the bin top plate. This configuration allows air to reach the humanure being held within the bin. In other embodiments, different configurations and spacings of the coil and related components can be used.