Human Liquid Waste Disinfection

Human liquid and solid waste disinfection and disposal poses a significant challenge in today's world. In both urban and rural settings, sanitation and effective disposal of sewage is an issue that has not been addressed with the efficacy necessary for healthy and sustainable living conditions. As part of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge (RTTC) launched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BGMF) in 2011, researchers around the world are designing novel solutions for a field that has seen little evolution since the invention of the flush toilet in the late 18th century.

The research team at Duke University's NTF Lab, in conjunction with researchers at the Duke University Center for WaSH-AID, are developing solutions to these complex challenges. They are developing affordable, onsite liquid and solid sanitation solutions that do not require piped-in water, a sewer connection or outside electricity, and that convert human waste into valuable end products, such as combustible fuel, stored energy and disinfected, non-potable water that can safely be re-used for flushing and irrigation.

For more information, please visit the Center for WaSH-AID.