Abstract
Many developing countries lack the infrastructure needed for the treatment of fecal sludge. One limitation in implementing available treatment options is the limited availability of land in the urban areas of these countries. This paper investigated the application of process intensification as a way of reducing the land area required to dewater and sanitize pit latrine sludge from informal settlements in Blantyre City, Malawi. The intensification of the sludge treatment process was achieved by enhancing dewatering through the application of additives and by combining the dewatering and sanitization stages. Nine combinations of sludge, lime and rice husk dosages, in addition to a control, were simultaneously loaded on unplanted drying bed units to dewater for 29 days. The study found a significant reduction of 21% to 73% in the land area required to dewater and sanitize pit latrine sludge. From the study, process intensification was shown to have the potential to significantly reduce the land area required to dewater and sanitize pit latrine sludge from informal settlements in Malawi cities. This makes it an option that can be implemented close to informal settlements, despite land limitation in these areas.
Highlights
Many developing countries lack appropriate fecal sludge treatment infrastructure [1,2].The best method in most countries is to treat fecal sludge in existing centralized wastewater treatment systems, which, in most cases, have dysfunctional equipment and inadequate treatment capacity, leading to an appropriate-to-partial treatment of fecal sludge [3,4,5]
The aforementioned situation still prevails in developing countries, despite the existence of technologies that are deemed to be suitable on the basis of their simplicity, reliability and robustness to shock loads, zero-to-low energy requirement, low skill requirement for operation and maintenance (O&M), very low O&M costs, reduced risks associated with system failure and increased reuse opportunities [6]
This paper investigates the extent to which process intensification could lead to a reduction in the land area required to dewater and sanitize pit latrine sludge from informal settlements in Blantyre City, Malawi
Summary
Many developing countries lack appropriate fecal sludge treatment infrastructure [1,2].The best method in most countries is to treat fecal sludge in existing centralized wastewater treatment systems, which, in most cases, have dysfunctional equipment and inadequate treatment capacity, leading to an appropriate-to-partial treatment of fecal sludge [3,4,5]. The aforementioned situation still prevails in developing countries, despite the existence of technologies that are deemed to be suitable on the basis of their simplicity, reliability and robustness to shock loads, zero-to-low energy requirement, low skill requirement for operation and maintenance (O&M), very low O&M costs, reduced risks associated with system failure and increased reuse opportunities [6]. Such options include unplanted drying beds, Int. J. Public Health 2020, 17, 3296; doi:10.3390/ijerph17093296 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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