Tool/Machine

Andreas G. Koestler and Andrew Larsen of the Fontes Foundation in Norway will design and conduct a small field test in Haiti of a new toilet block system that can be erected as a kit in high-density, difficult to serve communities such as refugee camps. The system will feature urine diverting toilet pans as well as enlarged ventilation areas to help eliminate odors and desiccate feces, and will utilize used billboard fabric as waterproof walls, ceilings, and bladders to store excreta and contain pathogens that can foul water supplies.

Peter Dreher of Livvon LLC in the U.S. is developing a simple, low-cost toilet for resource-poor settings that uses a hand crank to remove the water from infected feces and urine, and converts the feces into dry, harmless, odorless pellets in a sealed bag that can be used for fertilizer or fuel. The air-tight system will also control odor and keep out flies and vermin, and requires no water, chemicals, or electricity. The system will help to contain human pathogens such as strains of Escherichia coli that cause many diseases and are particularly deadly to small children.

Virginia Gardiner of Loowatt Ltd. in the United Kingdom will develop a waterless toilet that uses biodegradable film to safely separate and seal waste into a portable cartridge for local anaerobic digestion. The digester will produce fuel (biogas) and fertilizer, creating local waste treatment economies. In Phase I Gardiner performed market research in Madagascar to adapt the basic toilet system to local contexts and to develop a business model.

Marcos Fioravanti and Chris Canaday of Fundación In Terris in Ecuador will develop an easy-to-use urine-diverting dry toilet that uses a pedal to "flush" feces into a pipe and mix the waste with dry material for faster composting. Following toilet use, pushing the pedal turns an auger in the pipe, withdrawing the waste to eliminate odors and to enable safe sanitation, after which it can be used as fertilizer. In Phase I, they designed, built and laboratory-tested three prototypes with varying designs.

Bin Fan of the Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences in China seeks to develop a decentralized sanitation system which uses a low-cost waterless, vacuum system to collect excrement and kitchen waste. The combined waste can then be processed into organic fertilizer.

Mumtaz Arthur and colleagues of Biofilcom Ltd. in Ghana will develop and field test a prototype toilet facility that incorporates an aerobic digester to decompose waste along with a low-cost microflush valve that uses minimal amounts of wastewater from the washbasins to improve sanitation and user experience. The field tests will help assess and refine cultural, sanitation, and financial aspects of these community facilities.

Mark Illian of Nature Healing Nature in the U.S. will work with villagers in rural Africa to design a pour-flush latrine utilizing readily available urine instead of scarce water for flushing, and drops of used cooking oil for odor control. Achieving a successful design of these latrines could stimulate more latrine building to reduce open defecation and resulting diarrheal diseases.

Gary Foutch and AJ Johannes of Oklahoma State University in the U.S. propose to develop a small-scale device in which an auger forces feces and other solid wastes device through a die that results in high temperatures and pressure that dewaters the waste and destroys microorganisms. The device could reduce odor, insects, surface and ground water contamination, and the associated spread of diseases.

Antonio Avila of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil proposes to develop building blocks made from biocomposites that will replace conventional brick and cement constructions for pit latrines. The team will test these building blocks strength and their rate of biodegradation to determine their suitability for building latrines that will decompose once the pits are filled, allowing for the eventual reintroduction of the land for farming and other community uses.

Tim Canter of Frontier Environmental Technology in the U.S. proposes to develop a biogas generator that employs a unique self-sustaining mixing mechanism to effectively treat concentrated wastewater and produce biogas without extra energy or trained personnel.