Sustainability Problem: Health and water
2.4 billion people do not have access to safe and adequate sanitation. Sanitation related diseases are one of the leading of children under the age of 5. Further, access to clean and safe water is a growing concern: at least two-thirds of the world’s population lives with severe water scarcity for at least a month of every year and half of the world’s population is expected to live with water stress by 2030.
Technology Summary
- Seva Sustainable Sanitation is a smart electro-chemical toilet that uses power from solar panels to sterilize and clarify wastewater for reuse for flushing or irrigation.
- Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus can be almost fully eliminated from the wastewater.
- The toilet can be used off-grid in developing nations.
- The toilet is outfitted with sensors, a smartphone maintenance guide, and smart grid technology that allows individuals and communities to repair the toilet as needed with only a screwdriver
Stakeholders
- Communities and individuals that lack access to safe and adequate sanitation or in areas with severe water stress
- Governments of developing nations
- NGOs
Deployment Steps
- Develop and test maintenance system
- Finish field tests of prototypes
- Work with NGOs, governments, communities to disseminate and install toilets in areas in need
Articles
http://www.caltech.edu/news/winning-sanitation-solution-46978
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When a toilet is out of order, the Seva Sustainable Sanitation automatically directs users to other nearby sanitation systems. And in the next three years, Seva team will develop and test its maintenance system in which the embedded sensors will be able to determine if there is a failure and then an operator will be notified and come to fix it.
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This technology can turn toilet wastewater into disinfected water, through the power from its solar panels to sterilize and clarify it. Macronutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus can also be recovered from the waste, leaving water that is then recycled for flushing or irrigation.
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Also, the toilet unit is equipped with sensors, a mobile phone-based maintenance guide, and smart grid technology that empowers anyone in the community to repair the system when necessary.
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