Prototype microflush-biofil toilet facilities

Purpose

To develop and field test in Ghana a prototype toilet facility that incorporates a digester to decompose waste along with a microflush valve that uses minimal amounts of grey water from hand washing.

Activities

The GCE R6 grant enabled GSAP to bring together the Microflush valve and the Biofil digester, a macro-organism enhanced aerobic digester and field test these in several configurations (household- school and public toilets) in a rural community in Ghana. The results have been impressive for the technology. The implications for household toilets are most promising though the cost has had to be addressed. The challenge is going to scale. The S-Lab at Providence College has succeeded in developing a locally sourced and fabricated version of a GSAP Microflush toilet at drastically reduced cost.

Countries of activity

Location of main activity

Objectives

The goal of the original project was to develop and field test in Ghana a prototype toilet facility that incorporates the digester to decompose waste along with a microflush valve that uses minimal amounts (~150 cc) of grey water from hand washing.

Further information

Through the S-Lab in the Department of Engineering-Physics-Systems we have received small supplementary grants for moving the project forward. Current research and development is centered on reducing the costs, effecting a locally sourced and fabricated system and advancing the technology with several blackwater treatment approaches.

Filter tags

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Local NGO Peri-urban Practitioners Product design and engineering Rural Sub-Saharan Africa Toilets or urinals (user interface) Treatment of wastewater or greywater Vermifilters, vermifilter toilets

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