Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Sustainable Sanitation for the Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot, Haiti
EPA Grant Number: SU834771Title: Sustainable Sanitation for the Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot, Haiti
Investigators: Meegoda, Jay N , Ojeda, Christopher , Martins, Daniel , Lee, Ernest , Hsieh, Hsin-Neng , Jawidzik, Jason , Decker, Jilyan , Gayner, Julia , Boardman, Kate , Landrum, Lamount , Biele, Luigi , Rodriguez, Paul , Iacoviello, Steven , Sanghani, Suryakant
Institution: New Jersey Institute of Technology
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2010 through August 14, 2011
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2010) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
This project is to design a fully sustainable sanitation system for the Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot, Haiti where no external energy is used and all waste properly processed into useful products (biogas & fertilizer/soil conditioner). The digesting chamber design must be optimized by determining appropriate sizing based on waste input rate, removal rate, and retention time. The anaerobic process must be optimized through optimal methane production, quality of compost, and employing urine-diversion.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
From the site visit to Milot, Haiti, it was found that the system should treat daily fecal waste volume of approximately 6.9 gallons. Based on literature search and subsequent analysis it was found that urine should be diverted. The diverted urine will be collected in a separate storage tank and delivered to an agricultural site where it can be diluted by 50-90% water and sprayed as a nitrogen rich fertilizer. A dry fermentation bioreactor was proposed adding any additional water to the bioreactor. A wind driven mixer is proposed for optimal biogas production, which is expected to be between 0.5 to 2.0 cubic yard /day. Hence the proposed bio-digester has the potential of heating approximately 25 – 100 gallons/day of water for the hospital. The bioreactor is expected to yield an estimated total mass of 1525lbs of compost. Our trial calculations suggest that this compost is sufficient to treat one acre property. This will supplement the diluted urine supplied as water.Conclusions:
The design, which resulted from literature research combined with the surveying and analysis of data from Sacred Heart Hospital complex, yielded a unique bio-digester design as well as a plan for integrating its fertilizer output into the hospital’s existing agricultural program. The design is an above ground, two chambers and stirred-tank reactor, with only one of the two reactor tanks collecting waste at any given time. For the entire lifespan of the system, both tanks will experience cycles, which include one month of continuous public waste collection followed by a month of continuous inaccessibility, in opposite synchronization with the each other. During the month of public waste collection, the waste will be mixed daily and during the month of inaccessibility, the waste will be allowed to settle. Prior to being put back into commission after having been inaccessible, the decomposed waste that settled at the bottom of the tank is to be removed via a valve on the underside of the digester. This waste will be composted via aerobic degradation and dehydration. After dehydration it will be applied to the soil of the hospital’s vegetable garden. The collected urine from the dehydration process will be diluted and used as a nitrogen rich fertilizer, like the diverted urine.
The Engineers without Borders chapter from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJITEWB) has been designing the sanitation system since August 2010. During phase I, NJIT team generated construction blue prints, which will be presented during the Expo in April. The team will develop the details of the waste collection pipe from the toilet to the chamber to prevent black splash, stirring system and special mechanical valve to prevent odor from the chamber to the toilet will be developed before August 2011. The research team is currently preparing a journal paper for publication and NJIT intellectual property is currently evaluating the feasibility of a patent. A YouTube video is also being developed and will be available during the Expo in April. To create the 2D animation for the bio-digester project,
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 1 publications | 1 publications in selected types | All 1 journal articles |
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Soros A, Amburgey J, Stauber C, Sobsey M, Casanova L. Sustainable Community Sanitation for a Rural Hospital in Haiti. SUSTAINABILITY 2012;4(12):3362-3376 |
SU834771 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Pathogen, Agriculture, Fertilizer, Methane Capture, Developing Country, Sustainable Development, Human waste, anaerobic digestionRelevant Websites:
Engineers Without Borders at NJIT Exit
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.