2012 - 2017 eToilet as Testing Platform for integrating innovative wastewater and sewage treatment technologies Eram developed India's first electronic public toilet with features like payment mechanism, doors, washing mechanisms. This project aims to make the eToilet self sustained through minimizing water and power requirements.
Eram developed India's first electronic public toilet, the 'eToilet', with unique automated features to maximize user experience (e.g. payment mechanism, doors, washing mechanisms). In this project, Eram proposes to refine the eToilet by minimizing water requirements, improving sterilization mechanisms, and reducing necessary power consumption. The final eToilet will be a completely standalone system, integrated with high-end technologies, that is sustainable in terms of cost and […]
2011 - 2013 Floating community wastewater treatment in Asia To design and field-test at village scale a simple cost-effective wastewater treatment system for floating communities in Southeast Asia. Floating “Pods” that use the microbial activity on aquatic plant roots are installed under the toilet of houseboats.
The socio-entrepreneurial start-up Wetlands Work! received a grant in Round 7 of the Bill and Melinda Gates Grand Challenges Exploration program. WW! has developed an individual household wastewater treatment system that uses floating “Pods” - similar in appearance to children’s wading pools - that are positioned directly under the toilets of houseboats occupied by low-income fishing families. Similar to aquatic mesocosms, the Pods are filled […]
2011 - 2016 Reinvent the toilet: Using hydrothermal carbonization – or simply pressure cooking – to manage faecal sludge The energetically self-sufficient toilet uses an autothermic, hydrothermal carbonising process to produce material that is safe to handle and could be used for soil conditioner.
Loughborough University is developing a toilet that transforms faeces into a highly energetic combustible material. The schools/departments contributing to the project include: Water, Engineering & Development Centre, (WEDC), Chemical Engineering, Design, Materials, Civil and Building Engineering, Chemistry, Mechanical and Manufacturing, and Systems. The new toilet uses an autothermic, hydrothermal carbonising process to produce material that is safe to handle and could be used for soil conditioner. […]
2011 - 2014 Diversion for safe sanitation: Flushable urine-diverting dry toilet with on-site wash water recycling embedded in a concept of transport logistics and treatment The squatting “diversion toilet” includes integrated wash water recovery for hand washing and toilet cleaning. It separates undiluted urine, dry feces and wash water. The used water passes ultrafiltration and is recycled for the same purposes.
The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) and industrial design company EOOS develop a urine-diverting dry toilet with the additional feature of an integrated wash water recovery that allows for the comfort of hand washing and toilet cleaning. The squatting “diversion toilet” pan separates three streams: undiluted urine, dry feces and wash water. The used water is treated on-site based on ultrafiltration […]
2011 - 2015 Scaling out the recovery of nutrients and organic matter from faecal sludge for food production in Ghana: From Waste to Food (WaFo) To convert excreta into safe and efficient fertilizer pellets that could enhance agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa and make fecal sludge reuse commercially attractive.
This project hypothesized that producing excreta pellets could be the solution. The project explored ways to produce safe, efficient and cost effective fertilizer pellets from FS. The project focused on developing a marketable product from this waste, and explored options for pelletization of fecal sludge composts to increase; marketability, general acceptability, ease of handling and on-farm distribution, and to improve fertilizer use efficiency and affordability. […]
2011 - 2015 Data acquisition and field support for sanitation projects Phase 1 is about designing, prototyping, and evaluating a toilet system that can safely dispose of pollutants and recover valuable materials. The objective of phase 2 is to characterise physical and chemical properties of different excreta streams.
Assistance will be provided to other BMGF grantees in establishing and evaluating their prototypes in Durban, and providing a support of their work by: - obtaining experimental data of a range of excreta streams, - undertaking generic process investigations on selected excreta streams, - developing process models of material flows and transformations, - facilitating field trials for BMGF grantees in Durban, and - obtaining data from other countries (either field […]
2011 - 2012 Ecological sanitation for the base of the pyramid (Closing the loop between sanitation & agriculture in Mindanao, the Philippines using lactic fermentation) Exploring the viability of low-cost dry toilets and the use of human waste in small-scale agri-silviculture including crop trials; testing secondary treatment with vermi-composting and researching odour minimization.
We were one of the Grand Challenges Explorations Round 7 (GCE7) winners and received a US$100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for to work on the project “Ecological Sanitation for the Base of the Pyramid”. This project allowed us continuing our research on the high-grade production of human-waste-mixed organic fertiliser mentioned in my earlier post. But we did not only develop SaniFert, but […]
2010 - 2015 VUNA - Promoting sanitation and nutrient recovery through urine separation (Valorisation of urine nutrients in Africa) This project developed a system to collect source-separated urine and process it into fertiliser. Collection logistics, treatment technologies, and social and economic assessments of nutrient recovery were some of the activities.
By recovering nutrients from urine in small decentralised reactors, VUNA wants to develop a dry sanitation system, which is affordable for the poor, produces a valuable fertilizer, promotes entrepreneurship and reduces pollution of water resources. In this collaborative project, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) in Durban, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and the Swiss Institutes of […]
2011 - 2014 Upgrade human waste to fuel gas with plasma-driven gasification The development of a self-supporting sanitation system consisting of a microwave plasma gasification mini plant that generates energy and a human centered design for distributed sanitation facilities in urban informal settlements.
A collaboration of two Faculties (3ME and IDE) of Delft University of Technology proposes Microwave Plasma Gasification to generate electricity out of feces. This technology is a combination of the usage of plasma gasification and a solid oxide fuel cell and is an efficient method to get rid of large amounts of feces, meanwhile generating enough electricity to make the system self-supporting. A possible surplus […]
2011 - 2012 Slum sanitation with 100% safe reuse of nutrients (urea treatment and thermophillic composting of faecal sludge) SuSan Design upgrades human excreta from pathogenic material to safe agricultural fertilizers and soil improvers in 45 days. Goal is to design and test such a low cost system for farmers.
SuSan Design has achieved proving that this methodology has enormous potential and no bottle necks in terms of scale up. We have been able to produce a pathogen free volume from the excreta of 2000 people and we know that it can be done with excreta from 200.000 or even 20 million if the day comes that full return of nutrients today wasted are to […]
2014 - 2015 Pivot Plant: Converting human waste to fuel to finance complete sanitation Pivot is building the first faecal sludge to solid fuel facility,
Pivot is building the first faecal sludge to solid fuel facility (called Pivot Works) in Mombasa, Kenya, that will act as a commercial-scale demonstration factory. When successful, this sanitation process and business model will dramatically lower the barrier to delivering complete sanitation in low-income urban areas of developing countries by generating a viable revenue stream from the sale of faecal sludge-derived by-products. - Build a facility […]
2013 - 2015 Sanitation Product Development for Sub-Saharan Africa - Development of affordable, aspirational latrine products for markets in Sub-Saharan Africa (SaTo) Commercialization of one or more products that facilitate the construction of hygienic rural latrines.
In early 2013, American Standard launched the SaTo® latrine pan in Bangladesh: a simple, plastic, pour-flush pan that provides an air-tight seal, keeping odors in and insects out of the pit. The scarcity of water and relative expense of concrete limits the application of the SaTo® pan across many areas of rural Sub-Saharan Africa, and a new product concept that better meets these specific market […]
2013 - 2015 SQUAT (Sanitation Quality, Use, Access, and Trends): Evidence based sanitation advocacy for India To influence Indian policy, such that the government – at its various levels – might better pursue an end to open defecation, especially in rural India, which is r.i.c.e.’s focus.
What is needed now is (1) to convince policy-makers of this, and (2) a better understanding of the local political economy, social forces, and economic factors that constrain or promote latrine use. Ultimately, our goal is to influence Indian policy, such that the government – at its various levels – might better pursue an end to open defecation, especially in rural India, which is r.i.c.e.’s focus. […]
2011 - 2018 Up-scaling Basic Sanitation for the Urban Poor (UBSUP) in Kenya To improve the living conditions of the urban poor by offering access to sustainable plot level sanitation and safely managed sludge treatment options for up to 400,000 residents of urban low income areas in Kenya.
The UBSUP programme is implemented by the Water Sector Trust Fund (WSTF), which is a Kenyan state corporation mandated to finance water and sanitation services for the poor and under-served communities. UBSUP covers the entire sanitation service chain from toilet to treatment and is carried out on the grounds through the licensed water service providers (water utilities). The UBSUP approach is based on 3 key […]
2011 - 2017 Structuring the fecal sludge management market for the benefit of poor households in Dakar To support the creation of a large scale, sustainable sanitation value chain in Dakar, Senegal including mechanized fecal sludge management.
The National Office for Sanitation in Senegal (ONAS) has received a $17,070,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support the creation of a large scale, sustainable sanitation value chain in Dakar, Senegal including mechanized fecal sludge management. Manual desludging is predominant in Dakar. This project aims to make hygienic fecal sludge emptying services accessible and affordable to the peri-urban poor of Dakar […]
2011 - 2012 Senecio Iyratipartitus extract for use after anal ablution To produce a gel-based disinfectant from plant extracts of Senecio lyratipartitus which can be applied to hands. This hand disinfectant can reduce contamination associated with the practice of anal washing among certain communities.
In the early stages of this project, it was established that water kept in pans, pots and buckets for anal ablution after defecation was replete with diarrhea causing pathogens. Hands used for anal ablution were definitely contaminated with pathogens through the contaminated water. Individuals taking no measures to disinfect their hands were carrying and spreading the pathogens to members of their households and others through […]
2012 - 2014 Selling sanitation: A market development project for household sanitation in East Africa Selling Sanitation works with sanitation businesses and governments to develop commercial and sustainable markets for affordable and desirable sanitation facilities. The approach being piloted in Kenya, is planned to be expanded to other African countries
Selling Sanitation works with sanitation businesses and governments to develop commercial and sustainable markets for affordable and desirable sanitation facilities. Selling Sanitation is a joint IFC-WSP initiative that aims to help millions of people across Africa access household sanitation facilities they want and can afford. The market development approach is currently being piloted in Kenya, with planned expansion to other African countries by 2014.
2011 - 2017 Municipal-supported unsewered sanitation improvements for the urban-poor To improve the living conditions of the non-sewered urban-poor in Africa through provision of affordable and sustainable sanitation tools and technologies
The African Water Facility (AWF) is an initiative led by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) to mobilise resources to finance water resources development activities in Africa. It is hosted and managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Over its first six years of operation the AWF developed a portfolio of grants covering 84 projects in 51 countries including Africa’s most vulnerable states.
2011 - 2016 Communal sanitation solutions for urban slums To design a new programmatic infrastructure and physical structure that instills a sense of dignity while addressing issues affecting sanitation practices and encouraging community members to stop open-defecating.
This is an urban infrastructure project that seeks to design and build improved sanitation facilities in the cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in the state of Orissa in India. It provides a new, holistically re-imagined model for urban slum sanitation facilities in India reviewing: - Business models - Architectural designs - Communication interventions - And facility operation models.
2011 - 2014 SPLASH research program on sustainable sanitation service chains in low-income urban areas in Sub-Saharan Africa Five research projects in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, Mozambique investigate aspects of sanitation service provision in urban areas, from the household to final disposal.
The SPLASH Sanitation Research Programme, led by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, is funding five research projects in sub-Saharan Africa investigating aspects of sanitation service provision in urban areas, from the household to final disposal. The countries in which the research is being applied are Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, Mozambique.
