Date of Award
August 2019
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Advisor(s)
David G. Chandler
Keywords
Developing nations, Numerical Model, Public Health, Sanitation, Sustainable, Treatment Process
Subject Categories
Engineering
Abstract
To hygienically manage the global sanitation crisis, it is pertinent to develop new methods for treating human excreta. This thesis proposes a new design where human feces is stored in a steel shipping container that is subject to shortwave solar radiation that, according to theory, heats the enclosed excreta to temperatures that inactivate fecal pathogens. The feasibility of this design is analyzed by way of numerical and experimental modelling. The experimentally validated model is used to simulate the effectiveness of the design over the course of many days of irradiation. This study shows that a sufficient temperature distribution (i.e., T(x,y) > 46 ̊ C) is not achieved within the enclosed feces after 200 days of irradiation but this cannot be concluded until a fullscale test of the prototype is completed. Models that utilize nighttime insulation predict that necessary temperatures are achieved after 117 to 136 days of irradiation.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Homeyer, Ryan John, "A Feasibility Study of a Low-cost, Large-scale Thermal Treatment Process for Human Feces" (2019). Theses - ALL. 348.
https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/348
