Abstract
The implementation of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has resulted in an increased focus on developing innovative, sustainable sanitation techniques to address the demand for adequate and equitable sanitation in low-income areas. We examined the background, current situation, challenges, and perspectives of global sanitation. We used bibliometric analysis and word cluster analysis to evaluate sanitation research from 1992 to 2016 based on the Science Citation Index EXPANDED (SCI-EXPANDED) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases. Our results show that sanitation is a comprehensive field connected with multiple categories, and the increasing number of publications reflects a strong interest in this research area. Most of the research took place in developed countries, especially the USA, although sanitation problems are more serious in developing countries. Innovations in sanitation techniques may keep susceptible populations from contracting diseases caused by various kinds of contaminants and microorganisms. Hence, the hygienization of human excreta, resource recovery, and removal of micro-pollutants from excreta can serve as effective sustainable solutions. Commercialized technologies, like composting, anaerobic digestion, and storage, are reliable but still face challenges in addressing the links between the political, social, institutional, cultural, and educational aspects of sanitation. Innovative technologies, such as Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs), Microbial Electrolysis Cells (MECs), and struvite precipitation, are at the TRL (Technology readiness levels) 8 level, meaning that they qualify as “actual systems completed and qualified through test and demonstration.” Solutions that take into consideration economic feasibility and all the different aspects of sanitation are required. There is an urgent demand for holistic solutions considering government support, social acceptability, as well as technological reliability that can be effectively adapted to local conditions.
Highlights
The United Nations (UN), many local governments, and international organizations have launched programs to deal with the negative impact on human health and the environment caused by the lack of access to adequate sanitation
In 2013, after the successful implementation of worldwide activity in 2011 and 2012, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) expanded the project by supporting for regional programs, including “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge – India (RTTC-India)” and “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge – China (RTTC-China)”, encourages researchers and institutions to innovate and design new-generation toilets in the China and India locally, but the RTTC-China accepted the proposal which was proposed by Chinese leading team cooperated with the foreign partners
Abbreviation: MAP refers to MgNH4PO4∙6H2O; MFC refers to Microbial Fuel Cells; MEC refers to Microbial Electrolysis Cells; MPP refers to MgKPO4∙6H2O
Summary
The United Nations (UN), many local governments, and international organizations have launched programs to deal with the negative impact on human health and the environment caused by the lack of access to adequate sanitation. There are still 4.5 billion people lacking safely managed sanitation, and among them, 2.3 billion still do not have basic sanitation services. This number includes 600 million people who share a toilet or latrine with other households and 892 million people – primarily in rural areas – who defecate in the open, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on July 12th, 2017 (Osseiran et al, 2017). This work can help researchers develop ideas concerning future research areas and make more informed decisions
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