Sanitation

Olufunke Cofie of the International Water Management Institute in Ghana will develop and test fortified fertilizer pellets from treated human excreta for market sale. Production at large scale could enhance agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa, while also contributing to reduction in environmental health risk from untreated human waste. In Phase I Cofie tested several materials that are inexpensive and locally available as binding agents for producing robust fecal sludge pellets suitable for packaging and transportation.

This project aims to utilize ultrasound to move and settle human waste collected in a specifically designed latrine. This redesigned latrine uses less water and therefore provides a more sustainable solution to collect human waste.

Srikanth Mutnuri from BIRAC in India in collaboration with Willy Verstraete from Ghent University in Belgium, will aim to develop a financially affordable and simple-to-operate decentralized wastewater treatment system for a single household as well as for a gated community of 100 people (25 families) that will produce high quality effluent for safe disposal. The waste treatment system relies on electrochemical reactions and the production of chlorine, to manipulate the pH of the wastewater to destroy pathogens and helminthes.

This is a proof-of-concept development for using viral agents to target and kill pathogens and odor-producing bacteria in fecal waste and also develop for ways to integrate this into waste treatment systems. The potential of this project is immense as, once thoroughly tested; it will provide a completely natural alternate to managing pathogens in waste water.

This project aims at refining a biological-agent based technology to understand the optimal conditions needed for its efficient use in India. It aims to use Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) to consume the human fecal matter and other bodily wastes. The team will test the optimal environmental conditions, in terms of temperature and humidity, for Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL) to reduce the amount of human feces in waste septage.

This project aims to redefine the receiving material for human waste from water to granular material, thereby completely bypassing the need for water in this process. The project aims to redesign the conventional toilet to use a bed of granular that will ensure that there is no fecal staining of the system, fecal matter is cut-off from vectors, does not contaminate surface waters and that the user is always presented with a fresh, clean and dry surface.

This project, undertaken in collaboration with the University of South Florida, U.S., aims to develop and demonstrate an innovative sanitation and resource recovery solution for the slum areas in India.

Antonio Sánchez of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain will test the ability of low-cost iron oxide biocompatible nanoparticles to increase the production of biogas from sludge and other organic wastes and also produce high quality sanitized compost.

Swapnil Chaturvedi of Samagra Off-Grid Utilities, Inc. in the U.S. proposes to deploy an innovative service that integrates customers' emotional and aspirational motivations with the introduction of clean sanitation in slums in India. The goal is to create a business that leverages the existing network of local entrepreneurs who exchange rechargeable batteries to also include a business of exchanging waste cartridges. If successful, there could be a potential additional business opportunity to use the waste cartridges to power a biodigester that could recharge the batteries.

Zhiyong Ren of the University of Colorado Denver in the U.S. proposes to develop a low-cost and easy-to-operate bioelectric system that uses microbes to break down waste and convert it to usable electricity. This technology could provide a self-sustainable solution for communities in need of both sanitary waste disposal and an energy supply.