Ammonia sanitization of blackwater for safe use as fertilizer.

Source-separated blackwater from low-flush toilets contains plant-available nutrients and can be used as a fertilizer. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact on pathogen inactivation when treating blackwater with urea and/or lime. Blackwater was spiked with Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157, Enterococcus faecalis, and Ascaris suum eggs, and treated with urea and/or lime in concentrations up to 0.1% w/w. The bottles were kept in a storage facility (manure slurry tank) for 102 days while monitoring the pathogen concentrations. The treatment time needed to meet the requirement for Salmonella and E. coli reduction could be reduced at least six-fold. The enterococci were more persistent, and only the highest treatment doses had a significantly higher inactivation than the controls. The Ascaris egg viability was only reduced by around 50%, so higher urea/lime doses and/or longer treatment times are required to fulfill the treatment requirements of 3 log10 reductions of parasite eggs.

Ammonia sanitisation of sewage sludge using urea.

The aim of the study was to develop a simple, low-cost treatment for sewage sludge using urea as a sanitising agent. Sewage sludge was spiked with Enterococcus faecalis and Salmonella typhimurium, treated with 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2% w/w urea at laboratory scale, and the viability was monitored during 4 months of storage at 4, 10 and 22 °C (only 0.5%). A linear relationship was identified between Salmonella spp. inactivation rate and ammonia (NH3) concentration. Temperature had a positive impact on Salmonella spp. inactivation at higher temperatures, but in the range 4-10 °C temperature influenced this inactivation merely by its impact on the ammonia equilibrium. Enterococcus spp. was more persistent and a lag phase of up to 11 weeks was observed. Higher temperature and ammonia concentration reduced the lag phase duration significantly, and also had a clear effect on the inactivation rate for the treatments with 0.5% urea at 22 °C and 2% urea at 4 and 10 °C. Urea sanitisation of sewage sludge can give a 2 log10 reduction of Enterococcus spp. and more than a 5 log10 reduction of Salmonella spp. within 6 weeks with either 0.5% w/w urea at 22 °C or 2% urea at 10 °C.

Inactivation of adenovirus, reovirus and bacteriophages in fecal sludge by pH and ammonia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the inactivation of adenovirus, reovirus and bacteriophages (MS2, ΦX174, 28B) in a fecal sludge. We conducted two experiments. In the first, we tested different compositions of the fecal sludge by mixing different amounts of water, feces and urine, totaling nine combinations which were kept at temperatures between 10 and 28°C. In the second study, urea was added to the mixtures, which were kept at temperatures from 5 to 33°C. The inactivation was based on a combination of temperature, pH and uncharged ammonia concentration. The increase in pH and ammonia was provided mainly by urine content (Experiment 1) and by urine and added urea (Experiment 2). The inactivation of bacteriophages was slower than the AdV and ReV. At 23°C and 28°, reasonable treatment times were obtained when pH was higher than 8.9 and NH3 concentrations were higher than 35 and 55 mM respectively. With those conditions, the maximum time for a 3 log reduction in viruses, according to this study, would be 35 days (23°C) and 21 days (28°C). However, in most applications where helminth eggs are present, the treatment time and NH3 for sanitization will be the scaling criteria, as they are more persistent. Concerning the sanitization of effluents from latrines, vacuum toilets or dry toilets in developing countries with tropical and sub-tropical climates, the use of intrinsic ammonia combined with high pH can be effective in producing a safe and highly valuable liquid that can be used as a fertilizer. In the case of the fecal sludge with very intrinsic ammonia concentration (<20 mM), sanitization could still be achieved by the addition of urea.

The potential for self-sanitisation of faecal sludge by intrinsic ammonia.

Faecal sludge has the potential to be used as a sustainable fertiliser in agriculture, but the sludge must be sanitised due to its content of pathogenic microorganisms. The intrinsic ammonia from the urine may be sufficient for sanitisation of the sludge if it is not too diluted by flush water or lost by ventilation. To evaluate the potential for this sanitisation method, inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis, Salmonella typhimurium and Ascaris suum eggs during treatment were assessed. The inactivation was studied at different storage temperatures (10-28 °C) and in several sludge mixes with different contents of urine, faeces and flush water, and with ammonia concentrations from 40 to 400 mM. All pathogens were inactivated by the ammonia, and ascaris eggs were the most persistent. Lower flush water volume and higher urine content favoured inactivation, mainly due to increased uncharged ammonia (NH3) concentration. The lag phase in ascaris inactivation was shortened by increasing temperature and NH3 concentration, while post-lag phase inactivation was not influenced by NH3 concentration. Faecal sludge can be sanitised by airtight storage without the use of additives when flush water volumes are sufficiently low. For temperatures of 23-28 °C, a 3 log reduction of ascaris egg viability can be achieved within 1-6 months depending on ammonia concentration and temperature.