Field testing of a household-scale onsite blackwater treatment system in South Africa.
Blackwater reuse
Durban
Onsite sanitation
User testing
WASH
Journal
The Science of the total environment
ISSN: 1879-1026
Titre abrégé: Sci Total Environ
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 0330500
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
10 Feb 2020
10 Feb 2020
Historique:
received:
17
10
2019
revised:
08
11
2019
accepted:
08
11
2019
pubmed:
17
11
2019
medline:
7
3
2020
entrez:
17
11
2019
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Innovations that enable cost-effective and resource-conserving treatment of human waste are required for the 4.2 billion people in the world who currently lack safe and reliable sanitation services. Onsite treatment and reuse of blackwater is one strategy towards this end, greatly reducing the need to transport wastewater over long distances either via sewers or trucks. Here, we report on the field testing of a prototype onsite blackwater treatment system conducted over a period of 8 months. The system was connected to a women's toilet in a public communal ablution block located in an informal settlement near Durban, South Africa. Liquid waste was treated by separation and diversion of large solids, settling of suspended solids, and filtration through activated carbon prior to disinfection by electrochemical oxidation. System performance was monitored daily by measurement of chemical and physical water quality parameters onsite and confirmed by periodic detailed analysis of chemical and biological parameters at an offsite lab. Daily monitoring of system performance indicated that the effluent had minimal color and turbidity (maximum 90 Pt/Co units and 6.48 NTU, respectively), and consistent evolution of chlorine as blackwater passed through the system. Weekly offsite analysis confirmed that the system consistently inactivated pathogens (E. coli and coliforms) and reduced chemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids to meet ISO 30500 category B standards. Significant reductions in total nitrogen load were also observed, though these reductions often fell short of the 70% reduction required by ISO 30500. No significant reduction in total phosphorus was observed. Maintenance requirements were identified, and the resilience of the system to restart following a prolonged shutdown was demonstrated, but significant improvements are required in the design of the solid/liquid separation mechanism for application of this system in a wiping culture.
Identifiants
pubmed: 31732183
pii: S0048-9697(19)35462-2
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135469
pmc: PMC6947494
pii:
doi:
Substances chimiques
Waste Water
0
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
135469Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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