International E-publication: Publish Projects, Dissertation, Theses, Books, Souvenir, Conference Proceeding with ISBN.  International E-Bulletin: Information/News regarding: Academics and Research

Ecological sanitation: relative efficiency of different composting materials and recovery of nutrients for eco-san toilets

    , ,

Author Affiliations

  • 1Department of Environmental Management, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli – 620 0234 Tamil Nadu, India
  • 2Department of Environmental Science, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore–641 014, Tamil Nadu, India
  • 3Department of Environmental Management, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli – 620 0234 Tamil Nadu, India

Int. Res. J. Environment Sci., Volume 6, Issue (2), Pages 30-43, February,22 (2017)

Abstract

Human waste disposal practices are fivefold: open air defecation, dry latrines, eco-san toilet, pit latrines and septic tank toilet. Of which ecological sanitation is an advanced and sustainable method of managing human excreta, by means of recovering nutrients in both urine and faeces. Ecological sanitation envisages a scientific mechanism for a value addition to human excreta by attaching economic value to it. Predominately wood ash was used as composting material, however locally available various different composting materials also have the potential to compost human waste. There are differences among the materials in time taken to composting and nutrient recovery efficiency. Materials engaged for composting included wood ash, dry earth soil, saw husk and rice husk for the experiments conducted in the study. The experimental procedure was to spread the above composting material on faecal matter and provide anaerobic condition for six to ten months for composting. The present paper deals with the material which performs better than the others in nutrient recovery and reducing the time period of composting. In this regard the use of dry earth soil was found more efficient in producing standard physiochemical and biological parameters of the organic manure. From the results it has been confirmed that the E.coli gradually decreased to nil in just span of six months. Interestingly, the nutrient values of the total nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK) showed a lower level in the beginning state of composting but eventually at the final stage of composting after one year it had increased when using the wood ash, saw husk and rice husk. Presence of heavy metals were tested after the 10th month for all the above composting materials and the result for Cu, Cr, Zn, Pb, Ni, and Cd were observed to be within the permissible limit of Indian compost standard and Cd, As, and Hg was recorded Below Detectable Limit (BDL).

References

  1. Pruss-Ustun A., Bartram J., Clasen T., Colford J.M., Cumming O., Curtis V., Bonjour S., Dangour A.D., De France J., Fewtrell L., Freeman M.C., Gordon B., Hunter P.R., Johnston R.B., Mathers C., Mausezahl D., Medlicott K., Neira M., Stocks M., Wolf J. and Cairncross S. (2014)., Burden of disease from inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene in low-and middle-income settings: a retrospective analysis of data from 145 countries., Tropical Medicine and International Health, 19(8), 894-905. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4255749/pdf/tmi0019-0894.pdf Achieved the original article accessed from at February 2016.
  2. World Health Organization (2013)., Global Health Observatory Data Repository., Geneva: WHO, Mortality and global health estimates: Child Mortality:Causes of Child Death: Number of Deaths by Cause: By Region: WORLD: Diarrhoeal diseases.
  3. Watkins Kevin (2006)., Human Development Report, 2006-Beyond scarcity: power, poverty and the Global water crisis., UNDP Human Development Reports. http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/HDR/2006%20Global%20 HDR/HDR-2006-Beyond%20scarcity-Power-poverty-and-the-global-water-crisis.pdf Achieved the original article accessed from at February 2016.
  4. Drangert J. (1998)., Fighting the urine blindness to provide more sanitation options., Water SA, 24, 157-164.
  5. GTZ (2003)., Guidelines for the preparation and implementation of ecosan projects (2nd draft) eschborn, Germany.,
  6. Winblad U. (1997)., Towards an ecological approach to sanitation., Publicatioin on water Resources No. 5. Department for Natural Resources and the Environemnt, SIDA, Stockholm, Sweden, 13.
  7. Esrey S, Andersson I, hillers A and Sawyer R. (2001)., Closing the loop. Ecological sanitation for food security., Closing the loop. Ecological sanitation for food security SIDA, Stockholm, Sweden, 102.
  8. Stoner C.H. (1977)., Goodbye to the flush toilet: Water-saving alternatives to cesspools, septic tanks and sewer., Goodbye to the flush toilet: Water-saving alternatives to cesspools, septic tanks and sewer, Rodale press Emmaus, PA, 285.
  9. Van der Ryn S. (1978)., The toilet paper., Capra press., Santa Barbara, California.
  10. Winblad U. and Simpson-Herbert M. (2004)., Ecological sanitation-revised and enlarge edition., Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden.
  11. Esrey S., Potash J.B., Roberts L. and Shiff C. (1991)., Effects of improved water supply and sanitation on ascariasis, diarrhoea, dracunculiasis, hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, and trachoma., Bulletin of World Health Organization, 69(5), 609-621.
  12. Feachem R. and Koblinsky M. (1984)., Interventions for the control of diarrhoeal diseases among young children: promotion of breast-feeding., Bulletin of World Health Organization, 62(2), 271-291.
  13. Boot M. and Cairncross S. (1993)., Action speak: The study of hygiene behaviour in water and sanitation projects., The Hague: International Research centre, International Water and Sanitation Centre and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 139.
  14. Ejemot R.I., Ehiri J.E., Meremikwu M.M. and Critchley J.A. (2008)., Hand washing for preventing diarrhoea., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD004265. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004265.pub2
  15. World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation, (2013), Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water., Achieved the original article retrieved from (http://www.unicef.org/ media/files/JMPreport2012.pdf) accessed during January, 2015.
  16. World Health Organization (WHO)/ United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme (2014)., Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation, 2014 Update., Achieved the original article retrieved from (http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/JMP_report_2014_webEng.pdf) accessed during January, 2015.
  17. Stenström T.A. (2004)., Guidelines on the Safe Use of Urine and Faeces in Ecological Sanitation systems., Report 2004-1. Ecosanres, SEI, Sweden.
  18. World Health Organization (2006)., Guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excreta and Greywater., 1.
  19. Lentner C. and Wink A. (1981)., Units of Measurement, Body Fluids, Composition of the Body, Nutrition., Geigy Scientific Tables. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd, Basle, Switzerland, 1. ISBN 0-914168-50-9.
  20. Feachem R.G., Bradley D.J., Garelick H. and Mara D.D. (1983)., Sanitation and Disease. Health aspects of excreta and wastewater management., World Bank studies in water supply and sanitation. John Wiley and Sons. New York, 3.
  21. Jönsson H., Baky A., Jeppsoon U., Hellström D. and Kärrman E. (2005)., Composition of urine, faeces, greywater and biowaste for utilization in the URWARE model., Urban water Report of the MISTRA Programme, Report 6, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
  22. Vinnerås B., Palmquist H., Balmér P. and Jönsson H. (2006)., The characteristics of household wastewater and biodegradable waste - a proposal for new Swedish norms., Urban Water 3(1), 3-11.
  23. Gao X. Z., Shen T., Zheng Y., Sun X., Huang S., Ren Q., Zhang X., Tian Y. and Luan G. (2002)., Practical manure handbook., (In Chinese). Chinese Agricultural Publishing House. Beijing, China. In: WHO. 2006. Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater. Volume 4. Excreta and greywater use in agriculture. ISBN 92 4 154685 9.
  24. Pieper W. (1987)., Das Scheiss-Buch – Entstehung, Nutzung, Entsorgung menschlicher Fäkalien (The shit book – production, use, Entsorgung human faeces; in German)., Der Grüne Zweig, 123, Werner Pieper and Grüne Kraft. Germany. In: Jönsson, H., Stintzing, R., Vinnerås, B., Salomon, E. 2004. Guidelines on use of urine and faeces in crop production. Report 2004-2, Ecosanres, Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
  25. Schouw N.L., Danteravanich S., Mosbaek H. and Tjell J.C. (2002)., Composition of human excreta – a case study from Southern Thailand., Science of the Total Environment Journal 286(1-3), 155-166.
  26. Rossi L., Lienert J. and Larsen T.A. (2009)., Real-life efficiency of urine source separation., Journal of environmental management, 90(5), 1909-1917.
  27. Austin L.M. (Aussie) and Vuuren Van S.J. (Fanie) (2001)., Sanitation, public health and the environment: Looking beyond current technologies., Journal of the South African Institution Civil Engineering, 43(1), 29-33.
  28. Sundberg C. and Jonsson H. (2008)., Higher pH and faster decomposition in biowaste composting by increased aeration., Waste Management, 28(3), 518-526.
  29. American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, Water Pollution Control Federation and Water Environment Federation (1915)., Standard methods for the Examination of water and waste water., (20th edition). American Public Health Association, Washington, 2.
  30. Barrington S., Choiniere D., Trigui M. and Knight W. (2002)., Effect of carbon source on compost nitrogen and carbon losses., Bioresource Technology, 83(3), 189-194.
  31. US EPA (2008)., Municipal solid waste in the United States: 2007 Facts and Figures., EPA 530-R- 08-010, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Washington DC.
  32. Chen S.B., Zhu Y.G. and Ma Y.B. (2006)., The effect of grain size of rock phosphate amendment on metal immobilization in contaminated soils., Journal of Hazardous Materials, 134(1), 74-79.
  33. Buchanan R.E. (1974)., Bergey, Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 589.9 B47.
  34. Tare V. and Yadav K.D. (2009)., Fate of Physico-Chemical Parameters During Decomposition of Human Feces., Global Journal of Environmental Research, 3(1), 18-21.
  35. Haug R.T (1993)., The Practical Handbook of Compost Engineering., Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Washington DC. ISBN 0-87371-373-7.
  36. Short J.C.P., Frederickson J. and Morris R.M. (1999)., Evaluation of traditional windrow composting and vermicomposting for the stabilization of waste paper sludge (WPS)., Pedobiologia, 43(6), 735-743.
  37. Komilis D.P. and Ham R.K. (2006)., Carbon dioxide and ammonia emissions during composting of mixed paper, yard and food waste., Waste Management, 26(1), 62-70.
  38. Yadav K.D., Tare V. and Ahammed M.M. (2010)., Vermicomposting of source-separated human faeces for nutrient recycling., Waste Manage., 30(1), 50-56.
  39. Ogwang F., Tenywa J.S., Otabbong E., Tumuhairwe J.B. and Amoding-Katusabe A. (2012)., Faecal Blending for Nutrient Enrichment and Speedy Sanitation for Soil Fertility Improvement., International Scholarly Research Network, , Article ID 424171, 1-7.
  40. Hotta S. and Funamizu N. (2007)., Biodegradability of fecal nitrogen in composting process., Bioresource technology, 98(17), 3412-3414.
  41. Lopez Zavala M.A., Funamizu N. and Takakuwa Tetsuo (2002)., Onsite wastewater differential treatment system: modeling approach., Water science and technology, a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research, 46(6-7), 317-324.
  42. Iyengar S.R. and Bhave P.P. (2006)., In-vessel composting of household wastes., Waste Management, 26(10), 1070-1080.
  43. Heinonen-Tanski H. and van Wijk-Sijbesma C. (2005)., Human excreta for plant production., Bioresource Technology, 96(4), 403-411.
  44. Cordell D., Drangert J.O. and White S. (2009)., The story of phosphorus: global food security and food for thought., Global Environ Change, 19(2), 292-305.
  45. Haq G. and Cambridge H. (2012)., Exploiting the co-benefits of ecological sanitation., Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 4(4), 431-435.
  46. Mihelcic J.R., Fry L.M. and Shaw R. (2011)., Global potential of phosphorus recovery from human urine and feces., Chemosphere, 84(6), 832-839.
  47. Liu Y., Villalba G., Ayres R.U. and Schroder H. (2008)., Global phosphorus flows and environmental impacts from a consumptive perspective., J Ind Ecol., 12(2), 229-247.
  48. Berger E.Y. (1960)., Intestinal absorption and excretion., Mineral Metabolism, 1(part A), 263. In: Comar C. L. Bronner F. (eds).,. Academic Press, New York.
  49. Guyton AC. (1992)., Human physiology and mechanisms of disease., W. B. Saunders Co, Philadelphia, USA.
  50. Esrey S., Gough J., Rapaport D., Sawyer R., Simpson-Hebert M., Vargas J. and Windlad U. (1998)., Ecological sanitation., Stockholm, Sweden: Sida.
  51. Kirkby E.A. and Romheld V. (2004)., Micronutrients in plant physiology: Functions, uptake and mobility., In: Proceedings of International Fertiliser Society 543, 1-52.
  52. Humphries D.L., Stephenson L.S., Pearce E.J., The P.H., Dan H.T. and Khanh L.T. (1997)., The use of human faeces for fertilizer is associated with increased intensity of hookworm infection in Vietnamese women., Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg., 91(5), 518-520.
  53. Jonsson H., Stintzing A.R., Vinnerås B. and Salomon S. (2004)., Guidelines on the Use of Urine and Faeces in Crop Production., Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden, 7.
  54. Palmquist H. and Jonsson H. (2004)., Urine, faeces, greywater, greywater and biodegradable solid waste as potential fertilizers., In: Ecosan – closing the loop. Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Ecological Sanitation, Incorporating the 1st IWA Specialist Group Conference on Sustainable Sanitation, 7th-11th April, Lübeck, Germany, 587-594
  55. Sossou S.K., Ito R., Jibia A., Sou M. and Maiga A.H. (2011)., Survival of indicator bacteria and helminths eggs in composting toilet using sawdust as matrix., 95-102.
  56. Hurtado D. (2005)., Compost Latrines in Rural Panama: Design, Construction, and Evaluation of Pathogen Removal., M.S. Thesis, Environmental Engineering Division, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan
  57. Williams B. and Warren J. (2004)., Effects of spatial distribution on the decomposition of sheep faeces in different vegetation types., Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment, 103(1), 237-243.