Nouveau design solar septic tank: Reinvented toilet technology for sanitation 4.0

Bioenergy-producing two-stage septic tank and floating wetland for onsite wastewater treatment: Circuit connection and external aeration

This study designed a two-stage, electrode-integrated septic tank-floating wetland system and assessed their pollutant removal performances under variable operational conditions. The two-stage system achieved mean organic, nitrogen, phosphorus, and coliform removal percentages of 99, 78, 99, and 97%, respectively, throughout the experimental run. The mean metals (chromium, cadmium, nickel, copper, zinc, lead, iron, and manganese) removal percentages ranged between 81 and 98%. Accumulated sludge, filler media, and the hanging root mass contributed to pollutant removals by supporting physicochemical and biological pathways. The mean effluent organic concentration and coliform number across the two-stage system were 20 mg/L and 1682 CFU/100 mL, respectively, during the closed-circuit protocol, which was beneath the open-circuit-based performance profiles, i.e., 32 mg/L and 2860 CFU/100 mL, respectively. Effluent organic, nitrogen, phosphorus, metals, and coliform number ranges across the two-stage system were 9-17 mg/L, 13-24 mg/L, 1-1.5 mg/L, 0.001-0.2 mg/L, and 1410-2270 CFU/100 mL, respectively during intermittent and continuous aeration periods. The air supply rate differences influenced pollutant removal depending on the associated removal mechanisms. The non-aeration phase produced higher effluent pollutant concentrations than the aeration periods-based profiles. The overall mean power density production of the septic tank ranged between 107 and 596 mW/m3; 110 and 355 mW/m3 with the floating wetland. The bioenergy production capacity of the septic tank was positively correlated to external air supply rates. This study demonstrates the potential application of the novel bioenergy-producing septic tank-floating wetland system for wastewater treatment in decentralized areas.

Advancing the Economic and Environmental Sustainability of the NEWgenerator Nonsewered Sanitation System

Achieving safely managed sanitation and resource recovery in areas that are rural, geographically challenged, or experiencing rapidly increasing population density may not be feasible with centralized facilities due to space requirements, site-specific concerns, and high costs of sewer installation. Nonsewered sanitation (NSS) systems have the potential to provide safely managed sanitation and achieve strict wastewater treatment standards. One such NSS treatment technology is the NEWgenerator, which includes an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR), nutrient recovery via ion exchange, and electrochlorination. The system has been shown to achieve robust treatment of real waste for over 100 users, but the technology's relative life cycle sustainability remains unclear. This study characterizes the financial viability and life cycle environmental impacts of the NEWgenerator and prioritizes opportunities to advance system sustainability through targeted improvements and deployment. The costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the NEWgenerator (general case) leveraging grid electricity were 0.139 [0.113-0.168] USD cap^-1 day^-1 and 79.7 [55.0-112.3] kg CO₂-equiv cap^-1 year^-1, respectively. A transition to photovoltaic-generated electricity would increase costs to 0.145 [0.118-0.181] USD cap^-1 day^-1 but decrease GHG emissions to 56.1 [33.8-86.2] kg CO₂-equiv cap^-1 year^-1. The deployment location analysis demonstrated reduced median costs for deployment in China (-38%), India (-53%), Senegal (-31%), South Africa (-31%), and Uganda (-35%), but at comparable or increased GHG emissions (-2 to +16%). Targeted improvements revealed the relative change in median cost and GHG emissions to be -21 and -3% if loading is doubled (i.e., doubled users per unit), -30 and -12% with additional sludge drying, and +9 and -25% with the addition of a membrane contactor, respectively, with limited benefits (0-5% reductions) from an alternative photovoltaic battery, low-cost housing, or improved frontend operation. This research demonstrates that the NEWgenerator is a low-cost, low-emission NSS treatment technology with the potential for resource recovery to increase access to safe sanitation.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of pathogen reduction in onsite sanitation systems

The safe management of fecal sludge from the 3.4 billion people worldwide that use onsite sanitation systems can greatly reduce the global infectious disease burden. However, there is limited knowledge about the role of design, operational, and environmental factors on pathogen survival in pit latrines, urine diverting desiccation toilets, and other types of onsite toilets. We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to characterize pathogen reduction rates in fecal sludge, feces, and human excreta with respect to pH, temperature, moisture content, and the use of additives for desiccation, alkalinization, or disinfection. A meta-analysis of 1,382 data points extracted from 243 experiments described in 26 articles revealed significant differences between the decay rates and T₉₉ values of pathogens and indicators from different microbial groups. The overall median T₉₉ values were 4.8 days, 29 days, >341 days, and 429 days for bacteria, viruses, protozoan (oo)cysts, and Ascaris eggs, respectively. As expected, higher pH values, higher temperatures, and the application of lime all significantly predicted greater pathogen reduction rates but the use of lime by itself was more effective for bacteria and viruses than for Ascaris eggs, unless urea was also added. In multiple lab-scale experiments, the application of urea with enough lime or ash to reach a pH of 10 - 12 and a sustained concentration of 2,000 - 6,000 mg/L of non-protonated NH_3-N reduced Ascaris eggs more rapidly than without urea. In general, the storage of fecal sludge for 6 months adequately controls hazards from viruses and bacteria, but much longer storage times or alkaline treatment with urea and low moisture or heat is needed to control hazards from protozoa and helminths. More research is needed to demonstrate the efficacy of lime, ash, and urea in the field. More studies of protozoan pathogens are also needed, as very few qualifying experiments were found for this group.

Reversible adsorption and desorption of PFAS on inexpensive graphite adsorbents via alternating electric field

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been extensively utilized in practical applications that include surfactants, lubricants, and firefighting foams due to their thermal stability and chemical inertness. Recent studies have revealed that PFAS were detected in groundwater and even drinking water systems which can cause severe environmental and health issues. While adsorbents with a large specific surface area have demonstrated effective removal of PFAS from water, their capability in desorbing the retained PFAS has been often neglected despite its critical role in regeneration for reuse. Further, they have demonstrated a relatively lower adsorption capacity for PFAS with a short fluoroalkyl chain length. To overcome these limitations, electric field-aided adsorption has been explored. In this work, reversible adsorption and desorption of PFAS dissolved in water upon alternating voltage is reported. An inexpensive graphite adsorbent is fabricated by using a simple press resulting in a mesoporous structure with a BET surface area of 132.9 ± 10.0 m² g^-1. Electric field-aided adsorption and desorption experiments are conducted by using a custom-made cell consisting of two graphite electrodes placed in parallel in a polydimethylsiloxane container. Unlike the conventional sorption process, a graphite electrode exhibits a higher adsorption capacity for PFAS with a short fluoroalkyl chain (perfluoropentanoic acid, PFPA) in comparison to that with a long fluoroalkyl chain (perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA). Upon alternating the voltage to a negative value, the retained PFPA or PFOA is released into the surrounding water. Finally, we engineered a device module mounted on a gravity-assisted apparatus to demonstrate electrosorption of PFAS and collection of high purity water.

Sanitation Sustainability Index: A Pilot Approach to Develop a Community-Based Indicator for Evaluating Sustainability of Sanitation Systems

Evaluating the sustainability of sanitation systems is essential in achieving the sixth sustainable development goal. However, there are only limited number of available evaluation indexes, which are utilized to macroscopically determine a community’s sanitation coverage. Consequently, an index is required, which can evaluate different sanitation options for a specific community. In this paper, the sanitation sustainability index (SSI) is suggested as an indicator for evaluating the sustainability of sanitation systems. The SSI has sub-indexes that consider the technical, social, and economic aspects of the sanitation system, and all the variables are dimensionless and heavily dependent on the current state of the community where the sanitation system is going to be implemented. The applicability of the SSI was demonstrated by evaluating the implementation of two onsite sanitation systems, including one septic tank system and one resource-oriented sanitation (ROS) system in South Korea. A sensitivity analysis defined the variables that have significant impact, and the statistical distribution of the SSI for both systems was forecasted. The results showed that for South Korea, which has a profound history of utilizing human waste as fertilizer, utilizing the resource-oriented sanitation system is more sustainable, although it has a lower social sub-index score compared to the septic tank system.