BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE
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| Improper disposal of faecal sludge in Ghana |
To commemorate World Toilet Day today, November 19,
2012 and also help solve an age-old problem of the proper disposal of faecal sludge, a multi-national team will
today launch a groundbreaking research facility that transforms human waste
into renewable biodiesel fuel in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital of Ghana.
A joint effort by
researchers at Columbia University’s Engineering School working in Ghana with
Waste Enterprisers Ltd., the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
(KNUST), and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, the pilot facility is expected to
produce renewable, cost-effective and sustainable energy.
Currently, the team is
scaling up its research efforts initiated in the Columbia University Engineering
lab, and expects the facility to become a revolutionary new model in sanitation,
especially across the developing world.
According to the team
of researchers, today’s launch of the pilot phase is a major milestone in the
pioneering project, which is now entering its second year.
Funded through a grant
from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the project is led by Kartik Chandran, an
associate professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University’s school of
engineering and applied science and Ashley Murray, Founder and CEO of Waste Enterprisers Ltd, a
Ghanaian company that is working to reinvent the economics of sanitation in the
developing world.
As part of the project, Chandran is developing an innovative
technology to transform faecal sludge into biodiesel fuel and is working on
converting a waste-processing facility into a bio refinery.
Commenting on the facility, Chandran said, “This is a very
exciting project for us. We are aiming to create a next-generation urban
sanitation facility that will set new standards and serve as a model around the
world.”
He added that “With the capacity to
receive and treat 10,000 liters, or 2500 gallons ( a full sanitation truck
carrying concentrated faecal matter from at least 5,000 people) of faecal sludge
per day, this facility reaches way beyond the lab scale.”
Meanwhile, in the pilot
phase, expected to last 12 months, the researchers will be testing Chandran’s
bioprocess technology for converting the organic compounds present in faecal
sludge to biodiesel and methane, two potent sources of renewable energy.
Touching on the
motivation for the project, Murray said; “Our goal is to develop a
revenue-generating faecal-sludge-to-biodiesel facility that can transform
sanitation from an expensive burden into a profitable venture.”
“If we figure out a way
to make waste management profitable, governments and citizens that currently
bear the financial, environmental, and public health costs will all be better
off,” he stated.
Chandran and Murray are
working closely with several of the associate professor’s students at KNUST along
with a team of process engineers, to improve the biodiesel yield from faecal
sludge and explore the commercial viability of a business model based on
creating biodiesel from human waste.
Speaking on this
aspect, Murray opines; “This project is about more than a technology
breakthrough, it’s about creating economically sustainable approaches to waste
management that can eliminate the sanitation crisis in developing cities.”
Expressing their gratefulness
to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their recognition of the
critical importance of sustainable sanitation across the globe, especially in
developing countries, Chandran adds; “We hope our model can be replicated and
adapted around the world.”
For his part, Anthony
Mensah, Waste Management Director for the city of Kumasi believes “The faecal
sludge to biodiesel pilot project could potentially address sustainable
sanitation and introduce a new dimension into the sanitation value chain, not
only in Kumasi but globally,” saying “The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly is
therefore delighted to be part of this novel partnership.”
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