In most developed countries, the problem of sewage treatment has long been settled, which is not true of the developing countries. System called NEWgenerator, developed by engineers at the University of South Florida (USF), designed just for them. It is a mini-plant for wastewater treatment, which in turn purifies water, produces energy and produces fertilizer from waste. In the near future the system will be deployed in South Africa.
NEWgenerator – not the first such project. Thus, the system Loowat transforms waste into biogas and fertilizer, and a team of scientists from Bristol have developed a urinal “pee power” that converts urine into electricity. Their colleagues from the University of Cranfield (UK) nanomembrane created a waterless toilet that allows you to burn solid waste to produce fertilizer and electricity.
Waste to NEWgenerator occurs in three stages. First, they come in a bioreactor where anaerobic microorganisms break down the solids, turning them into biogas. This process occurs without the use of chemicals and aerobic equipment. The resulting methane is collected and can be used as fuel for cooking and electricity production.
After this liquid waste is received in another cell. There they pass through the microscopic porous membrane and purified from bacteria, viruses, and the remaining solid particles. The final stage of water treatment – chlorination, after which it can be used for flushing toilets and irrigating crops.
And finally, solid wastes can be recycled into mineral nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers for fertilizing crops.
The first version of the NEWgenerator has been installed in one of the communities of India in the past year. Recently, researchers at USF received a grant from the bill gates Foundation in the amount of 1.14 million dollars to develop two new versions for residents of the city of Durban in South Africa.
Source — University of South Florida