1st International Terra Preta Sanitation Conference Aug 2013

Location:Hamburg University of Technology. The campus is located in Hamburg-Harburg.

Dates: Wednesday, 28  -  Saturday  31 August 2013

Background

…An analysis of a former civilisation in the Amazon, nowadays Brazil, reveals concepts which enable a highly efficient handling of organic wastes. Terra Preta do Indio is the anthropogenic black soil that was produced by ancient cultures through the conversion of biowaste and faecal matter into long-term fertile soils. These soils have maintained high amounts of organic carbon even several thousand years after they were abandoned. It was recently discovered that around 10% of the originally infertile soils in the Amazon region was converted this way from around 7,000 until 500 years ago. Due to the accumulation of charred biomass and other organic residues, terra preta subsequently formed giving it a deep, distinctly dark and highly fertile soil layer.One of the surprising facts is that this soil is highly productive without adding fertiliser.

Recent research concludes that this culture had a superior sanitation and bio-waste system that was based on source separation of faecal matter, urine and clever additives particularly charcoal dust and treatment steps for the solids resulting in high yielding gardening. Additives included ground charcoal dust while the treatment and smell prevention started with anaerobic lactic-acid fermentation followed by vermicomposting.The generation of new Terra Preta (‘terra preta nova’) based on the safe treatment of human waste could be the basis for sustainable agriculture in the twenty-first century to produce food for billions of people….

Speakers / Sessions

Thursday
Conference Keynote Dr. Haiko Pieplow (tbc)
Session 1: TP soils, soil fertility, organic farming
Key note from Bruno Glaser or Albrecht von Sydow (Germany) (tbc)

• T. Theuretzbacher (Austria): Investigation on Terra Preta like products on the german-Austrian market
• N. Andreev (Moldava): The effect of terra preta like substrate on germination and shoot growth of radish and parsley
• H. Factura (Philippines): Addressing Poor Sanitation and Generating Added Values through Terra Preta Sanitation
• B. Pelivanoski (Germany): Terra Pellet – an organic fertilizer inspired by terra preta

Session 2: TPS Applications, Quality of products, hygienic parameter, legislation, certification
Keynote presentation Prof. Srikanth Mutnuri (India) (tbc): Terra Preta as an Alternative for the Management of Sludge from Waste Water Treatment Plant

• S. Böttger (Germany): Terra Preta – production from sewage sludges of decentralised wastewater systems
• M. Stöckl (Germany): Vermicomposting of fecal matter and organic waste – a quality assessment of products
• D. Meier Kohlstock (Germany): The integration of Terra Preta Sanitation in European nutrient cycles – Options for alternative policies and economies

Session 3: Terra Preta Sanitation: toilet systems and designs / Logistic and operation / practical examples
Keynote speech Prof. Charlotte de Fraiture (Netherlands) (tbc)

• R. Wagner (Germany): New challenges of resource management in the Botanic Garden Berlin by producing and applying biochar substrates
• R. Kuipers (Netherlands): A socio-economic assessment of urine separation, with a reflection on the possibilities for Terra Preta Sanitation, for the recycling of nutrients to rural agriculture in the Philippines
• M. Bulbo (Ethiopia): TP application in Ethiopia
• R. Wolf (Germany): Application of Fermented Urine for build up of Terra Preta Humus in a Permaculture Park and Social Impact on the Community Involved

Friday
Session 4: Carbon composting of biowaste and excreta/Climate farming / wood gas technology for energy and char coal production / Pyrolysis vs. hydrothermal carbonization
Keynote presentation Prof. Zifu Li (China) (tbc): Energy balance analysis on the pyrolysis process of animal manure
T. Voss (Germany): Wood gasification in parallel flow fixbed gasifieres for combined energy and charcoal production – experiences from six years of operation (abstact follows)

• C. vom Eyser (Germany): Product quality of ç from sewage sludge in terms of micropollutants
• E. Someus (Sweden): Reducing mineral fertilisers and chemicals use in agriculture by recycling treated organic waste as compost and bio-char products
• J. Fingas (Germany): Climate farming – Practical experience from sub-Saharan Afrika

Session 5: Microbiology, sanitization and lactic acid fermentation
Keynote presentation Dr. Gina Itchon (Philippines): The Effectivity of the Terra Preta Sanitation (TPS) Process in the Elimination of Parasite Eggs in Fecal Matter: A Field Trial of TPS in Mindanao, Philippines

• A. Yemaneh (Germany/Ethiopia): Investigation of Low-Cost Sugar Supplement for Lactic Acid Fermentation of Human Excreta in Terra Preta Sanitation System
• A. Febriana (Indonesia): Faeces Treatment By Lactofermentation Process Based On Terra Preta Sanitation System Concept
• A. Walter (Austria): Microbial communities in charcoal and microbe amended composts
• F. Scheinemann (Germany): Sanitation and conservation of nutrients in cattle manure and sewage sludge by anerobic fermentation

Click here to go to the conference website

Organisation Committee

Institute of Wastewater Management and Water Protection at TUHH
GFEU e. V.
WECF

Co-Organisers

Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics at TUHH
German WASH Network
UNESCO IHE
BDZ

all details are from their site

Rose George: Take toilets seriously talk at TED@London

A great video to watch while waiting to see the  recording of  Rose George when she spoke at Ted 2013

 

Profile from TED 2013:

Rose George thinks, researches, writes and talks about sanitation. Diarrhea is a weapon of mass destruction, says the UK-based journalist and author, and a lack of access to toilets is at the root of our biggest public health crisis. In 2012, two out of five of the world’s population had nowhere sanitary to go.

The key to turning around this problem is to “stop putting the toilet behind a locked door,” says George.  Let’s drop the pretense of “water-related diseases” and call out the cause of myriad afflictions around the world — “poop-related diseases” that are preventable with a basic toilet. Once we do, we can start using human waste for good.

George explores the problem in her book The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters and in a fabulous special issue of Colors magazine called “Shit: A Survival Guide.”

Related Links for Rose George

• Go home and talk s***: Rose George at TED2013
• Contact info , book info and a whole lot more on her web site….
• Animated homage to her Book: The Indoorfins present: The Big Necessity   :-)

Other powerful TED , TEDX,  TED-Ed links

• TEDxYYC – “David Damberger – Learning from Failure” -Wonderful Reflection on his WATSAN Experience
• TEDx HOW NEXTDROP IS USING CELL PHONES, CROWDSOURCING TO GET WATER TO THE THIRSTY.
• TEDxBerlin Noa Lerner:X-runner. Sanitation Social Business
• TEDxAmsterdamWomen Anjali Sarker – Toilet+ overcoming my childhood fear TEDX event
• Revolutionizing Sanitation in Developing Nations: Yu-Ling Cheng at TEDxYouth@Toronto
• Where we get our fresh water – Christiana Z. Peppard TED-Ed
• Turning recycled wastewater into a commoditized resource : Valérie Issumo at TEDxLausanne
• The Wello Water Wheel Story : Cynthia Koenig at TEDxGateway

Revolutionizing Sanitation in Developing Nations: Yu-Ling Cheng at TEDxYouth@Toronto

Dr. Yu-Ling Cheng delivers a great overview of the current state of sanitatio and gives an over of her current efforts.  She speaks of how she came to understand  it to be essential to be part of the sanitation solution.   She is addressing a group of student  on the cusp of pick paths to travel starting colleges.  She delivers a message that will ring true many regardless of age and path now traveling.

Dr. Yu-Ling Cheng is the Director of the Centre for Global Engineering  (CGEN) and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at the University  Of  Toronto. CGEN was established in 2009 to be the focal point and major driver in preparing engineering graduates to meet challenges, responsibilities and opportunities in a globally sustainable future. Under her leadership, CGEN is developing new courses and academic programs in global engineering. She also leads new global engineering research initiatives, most notably a project under the “Re-invent the Toilet” challenge posed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Aside from her interests in global engineering, Professor Cheng’s research interests have centered around drug delivery, and the understanding of transport processes in polymeric and physiologic systems. She is a member the Teaching Academy, the highest honour for teaching at the University of Toronto. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Academics Without Borders, an NGO whose mission is to enhance higher education capacity in developing countries.

source for text is directly from : about Yu-Ling 

additional source about Yu-Ling

Related Links

• Professor Yu-Ling Cheng Discusses the Toilet Challenge (on Vimeo)
• A look at the prototype of the device Yu-Ling team is working on (youtube)
• University of Toronto awarded $2.2 million grant for toilet research
• TEDxAmsterdamWomen Anjali Sarker – Toilet+ overcoming my childhood fear TEDX event (washlink.wordpress.com)
• Canadian engineer helping reinvent the toilet (sunnewsnetwork.ca)

Reminder: African Toilet Design Competition

Rationale:

To discover a toilet concept design, which in its design, will address the various sanitation and related challenges faced by the millions of Africans i.e. no or limited access to water resources, scarcity of water resources, the absence of adequate bulk infrastructure (water and waste water works), high levels of unemployment and poverty, inadequate or no housing structures, disease, hunger etc. and in doing so, afford access to acceptable, safe and adequate sanitation whilst promoting the harvesting of by-products such as compost and urine for the establishment of self-sustained food gardens. The winning concept design(s) should adequately address / prevent and/or limited disease mitigation from transmission through the 5 C`s i.e. fluid, feet, food, fingers and flies.

Competition Dates:

Closing Date for Submission 30 September 2012

Short listed candidates Notified 30 October 2012

Winning Designs Announced 4 December 2012

Terms of Reference and Concept Design Specification IMPORTANT:

The design specifications exclude any potential design that:

•   requires water to operate
•   requires excavation of ground for installation
•   resembles VIP or Double VIP Toilets

Design Specification The design should:

1. Be environmentally friendly i.e. waterless and chemical free
2. Promote aerobic processes and the dehydration of faecal matter through forced ventilation
3. Promote urine diversion and the collection thereof (urine collection tank) and the conversion of faecal matter to compost-like material for agrarian use
4. Be an On-site system i.e. collection and processing of human faecal matter, with little or no off site removal required
5. Include a heat energy device that promotes further dehydration, creates a negative pressure and promotes an odourless environment
6. Be self-contained i.e. the design must prevent spillage of both urine and faecal matter into the surrounding soil
7. Be for a 1: 1 USE to promote household use (family of 4 – 6 people).

Production Parameters:

1. Portability: Should be light weight, easy to transport and relocate.
2. Durability: Should be strong in its design and afford vertical weight transfer efficiency of up to 200 Kilograms,
3. UV – resistant.
4. The design should be robust in its design in order to withstand the harsh African climate.

 Maintenance Features:

1. The faecal collection chamber should allow for easy removal during cleaning cycles.
2. Cleaning cycles, under normal use, should be once every 4 (four) weeks,
3. Cleaning material/products should to be specified to enhance composting processes – should be certified bio-degradable and compostable.
4. Personal safety and precautionary measures to be specified and amplified.

  Other Specifications:

The final design:

1. Should be an above ground toilet system
2. Should be able of mass production and rapid implementation in target areas though out Africa
3. Should have a minimal of moving parts
4. Should be affordable, both in its capital expenditure and monthly cleaning costs
5. Should necessitate the use of bulking agent and toilet paper “only”
6. Must be accompanied with the appropriate design specification schedules, cleaning and installation manuals.
7. Must accommodate for the introduction of CLTS Principles in both its implementation phase and cleaning phase.
8. All submissions must be accompanied by a sample concept design toilet unit.

Submission details

• Submissions may be sent electronically via email to webmaster@satoilet.co.za.
• Sample concept design units (actual toilet) (Shortlisted candidates only) MUST be sent to:
  • Unit 1 Linton Close
    Beaconvale
    ParowWestern Cape South Africa
    MARKED: 2012 AFRICAN TOILET DESIGN COMPETITION

    For complete details got to  African Toilet Design Competition

5. Prize Money		S.A. Rand	US$
a)	1st Prize Allocation	55 000	7 500
b)	2ND Prize Allocation	30 000	5 000
c)	3rd Prize Allocation	15 000	2 500
	Total Prize Value	100 000	15 000

US$ estimated due to exchange rate fluctuations.
Winning concepts designs will attract commercial relationship with sponsor to further the commercialization of their designs.

Proudly Sponsored by:

AFRICAN SANITATION OUTSOURCING (PTY) LTD

http://www.0860dryloo.co.za

For complete details got to  African Toilet Design Competition

all details/text  on this page come directly  from PDF  found at the above site

Related articles

• Durban Summit – An Eye Opener To Toilets And Sanitation Problems (prweb.com)