This library entry contains background documents for a grant that Naomi Halas is leading and which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Further information and a discussion is available on the SuSanA discussion Forum, see link below. Short description of the project: Solar steam generation, a recent discovery from the Halas lab at Rice University, is the technological breakthrough upon which this project is based. Light-absorbing nanoparticles, when dispersed in water and illuminated by sunlight, produce steam with only secondary heating of the fluid volume: more than 80% of the solar energy absorbed by the nanoparticles is converted directly into steam, with less than 20% contributing to residual fluid heating. Due to its unparalleled high efficiency, this process produces high temperature steam rapidly, in compact, standalone geometries extremely well-suited for applications in the developing world. The nanoparticles are inexpensive, industrially produced carbon particles, and are not consumed in the steam generation process. The only input other than solar energy is water, which need not be sterilized prior to use. Goal(s): The goal of this project is to design and build a Solar Steam Sterilizer specifically for the processing of human excreta in resource-constrained locations. Objectives: In Phase I we demonstrated a compact, standalone solar steam generator-driven autoclave capable of delivering high temperature steam (>130oC) for the sterilization of human waste. The prototype unit is capable of sterilizing a 14 liter volume of waste in 5 minutes (30 minute total cycling time). Both the short cycle time and the quality of the sterilized output “product” establish a new standard far above existing waste remediation methods. Start and end date: end date 30 April 2013, final report due 15 June 2013 Grant type: GCE R7 Research or implementation partners: Sanivation and EurekaSun Further authors: Neumann, O., Feronti, C., Dong, A., Neumann, A., Calderon, I. Journal article about this project: Oara Neumann, Alexander S. Urban, Jared Day, Surbhi Lal, Peter Nordlander, and N. J. Halas, “Solar Vapor Generation enabled by nanoparticles”, ACS Nano 7, 42-49 (2013). pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn304948h Abstract: Solar illumination of broadly absorbing metal or carbon nanoparticles dispersed in a liquid produces vapor without the requirement of heating the fluid volume. When particles are dispersed in water at ambient temperature, energy is directed primarily to vaporization of water into steam, with a much smaller fraction resulting in heating of the fluid. Sunlight-illuminated particles can also drive H2O–ethanol distillation, yielding fractions significantly richer in ethanol content than simple thermal distillation. These phenomena can also enable important compact solar applications such as sterilization of waste and surgical instruments in resource-poor locations. +++++++++++ Documents available for download below: 1- A solar steam sterilizer for the treatment of human waste (Poster, Aug. 2012)

Bibliographic information

Halas, N. (2013). A solar steam sterilizer for treatment of human waste Various documents on results from research grant Rice University, USA

Filter / Tags

Faecal sludge treatment processesFundamental research and engineeringEnglish

Related Countries

KenyaUnited States

Downloads