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Grand Challenges is a family of initiatives fostering innovation to solve key global health and development problems. Each initiative is an experiment in the use of challenges to focus innovation on making an impact. Individual challenges address some of the same problems, but from differing perspectives.

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Using Waste To Move Waste

Mark IllianNature Healing NatureHouston, Texas, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
30 Mar 2011

Mark Illian of Nature Healing Nature in the U.S. will work with villagers in rural Africa to design a pour-flush latrine utilizing readily available urine instead of scarce water for flushing, and drops of used cooking oil for odor control. Achieving a successful design of these latrines could stimulate more latrine building to reduce open defecation and resulting diarrheal diseases.

Prototype Microflush- Biofil Toilet Facilities

Stephen MeccaGhana Sustainable Aid ProjectJamestown, Rhode Island, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
30 Mar 2011

Mumtaz Arthur and colleagues of Biofilcom Ltd. in Ghana will develop and field test a prototype toilet facility that incorporates an aerobic digester to decompose waste along with a low-cost microflush valve that uses minimal amounts of wastewater from the washbasins to improve sanitation and user experience. The field tests will help assess and refine cultural, sanitation, and financial aspects of these community facilities. In Phase I, Stephen Mecca of Ghana Sustainable Aid Project in the U.S., along with partners in Ghana, installed and evaluated the performance of three prototypes in Ghana: a 9-stall public toilet, a 3- to 5-stall school toilet, and a 1- to 2-stall family toilet. They demonstrated that the toilet system was effective at removing odors, and isolating and digesting waste, with low associated costs. They also conducted a field survey to evaluate sanitation habits, health and impacts on potential users, and researched ways to improve some of the associated subsystems such as harvesting rainwater for use in the washbasins. In Phase II, Mumtaz Arthur of Biofilcom Ltd. in Ghana will scale up field-testing to an entire village by installing 400 stalls, further research the digestion process, and work to produce a next generation low-cost prototype for local manufacturing, supply, and easy assembly.

Using Cocopeat for Treating Septic Tank Effluent

David RobbinsResearch Triangle InstituteResearch Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
30 Mar 2011

David Robbins of RTI International in the U.S. will test a septic tank biofilter made from cocopeat, which is a readily available byproduct of coconut processing, for its ability to decompose human waste and produce effluent that can be used for crop fertilization and irrigation. If successful, the cocopeat biofilter could be produced locally and aid in solid waste treatment and water conservation efforts.

A Low-Cost Decentralized Sanitary System

Bin FanResearch Center for Eco-environmental Sciences (RCEES), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); and Chinese Committee for SCOPE (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment)Beijing, China
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
31 Mar 2011

Bin Fan of the Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences in China seeks to develop a decentralized sanitation system which uses a low-cost waterless, vacuum system to collect excrement and kitchen waste. The combined waste can then be processed into organic fertilizer.

Ecological Sanitation for the Base of the Pyramid

Elmer SayreWater, Agroforestry, Nutrition and Development Foundation, IncorporatedCagayan de Oro, Philippines
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
31 Mar 2011

Elmer Sayre of the WAND Foundation in the Philippines will explore how to close the loop between sanitation, health and food consumption by testing low-cost dry toilets appropriate for most conditions and using the human waste in small-scale agriculture efforts. Results and best practices will then be shared for future scale-up of the project.

The Lotus Throne: A Self-Cleaning Solution to Sanitation

Kin-Ping WongRetina Pharma IncHayward, California, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
1 Apr 2011

Kin-Ping Wong of Retina Pharma, Inc. in the U.S. proposes to test UV-resistant super-water-repellent silica as a coating for toilets, which could reduce the amount of water needed to clean the toilets after use and improve the surface sanitation of the toilets. The silica coating displays the same very high water repellency as the leaves of the lotus flower.

The Earth Auger Toilet: Innovation in Waterless Sanitation

Marcos FioravantiFundación In TerrisGuayaquil, Ecuador
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
4 Apr 2011

Marcos Fioravanti and Chris Canaday of Fundación In Terris in Ecuador will develop an easy-to-use urine-diverting dry toilet that uses a pedal to "flush" feces into a pipe and mix the waste with dry material for faster composting. Following toilet use, pushing the pedal turns an auger in the pipe, withdrawing the waste to eliminate odors and to enable safe sanitation, after which it can be used as fertilizer. In Phase I, they designed, built and laboratory-tested three prototypes with varying designs. The two best designs, one for home use and one for public use, were field tested in Ecuador to evaluate performance and usability. In Phase II, Fioravanti, now working with co-investigator Chuck Henry, will further refine the design through feedback from the field, and test modified prototypes with a view to conduct large-scale local demonstrations across different continents to promote user acceptance. They will also look to scale-up manufacturing to low-cost mass production.

Using Senecio lyratipartitus Extract After Anal Ablution

Asafu MaradufuUniversity of Eastern Africa, BaratonEldoret, Kenya
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
4 Apr 2011

Asafu Maradufu of the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton in Kenya proposes to produce a gel-based disinfectant from plant extracts of Senecio lyratipartitus which can be applied to hands. This disinfectant will reduce contamination associated with the practice of anal ablution among certain communities.

An Energy-Producing Waterless Toilet System

Virginia GardinerLoowatt Ltd.London, United Kingdom
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
4 Apr 2011

Virginia Gardiner of Loowatt Ltd. in the United Kingdom will develop a waterless toilet that uses biodegradable film to safely separate and seal waste into a portable cartridge for local anaerobic digestion. The digester will produce fuel (biogas) and fertilizer, creating local waste treatment economies. In Phase I Gardiner performed market research in Madagascar to adapt the basic toilet system to local contexts and to develop a business model. She further developed the toilet, digester, and post-treatment system, and built a pilot system that was tested using human waste in the laboratory. In Phase II, Loowatt looks to scale-up their technology and tools for the global market by further developing the anaerobic digester, readying toilet components for mass production and local manufacture and supply, and exploring local manufacturing possibilities for the biodegradable film.

High Efficiency, Sanitary Toilet with Sewage Treatment

Peter DreherLivvon LLCWest Chester, Ohio, United States
Grand Challenges Explorations
Sanitation Technologies
4 Apr 2011

Peter Dreher of Livvon LLC in the U.S. is developing a simple, low-cost toilet for resource-poor settings that uses a hand crank to remove the water from infected feces and urine, and converts the feces into dry, harmless, odorless pellets in a sealed bag that can be used for fertilizer or fuel. The air-tight system will also control odor and keep out flies and vermin, and requires no water, chemicals, or electricity. The system will help to contain human pathogens such as strains of Escherichia coli that cause many diseases and are particularly deadly to small children. In Phase I, they built the toilet and tested it on cow feces, which has similar water and bacteria content to humans. They found that it killed all the pathogens, sealed in odor, and the urine collector made nitrogen fertilizer. In Phase II, they will adapt the design for mass production, and develop a sustainable business model that generates revenue from the fertilizer and from electricity, which will be produced by a feces-fueled generator, to cover the cost of the toilet and collection service. They will also develop a reward system for using the toilets. They will produce several thousand toilets to test their business model in Africa or Haiti, and evaluate the profit or loss.

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