ArticleThe Science of the total environment2020
Field testing of a household-scale onsite blackwater treatment system in South Africa.
Article in The Science of the total environment, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Potential of Thermomechanical and Thermochemical Processes to Enable Sustainable Household Sanitation.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- Defining Economic and Environmental Typologies across 77 Countries to Prioritize Opportunities for Nonsewered Sanitation.Environmental science & technology · 2025Article
- Understanding the Catalytic Active Sites of Crystalline CoSbACS applied materials & interfaces · 2023Article
- Advancing the Economic and Environmental Sustainability of the NEWgenerator Nonsewered Sanitation System.ACS environmental Au · 2023Article
- Technologies for pollutant removal and resource recovery from blackwater: a review.Frontiers of environmental science & engineering · 2023Review
- Onsite Graywater Treatment in a Two-Stage Electro-Peroxone Reactor with a Partial Recycle of Treated Effluent.ACS ES&T engineering · 2021Article
- The NEWgeneratorJournal of environmental management · 2021Article
- Performance and onsite regeneration of natural zeolite for ammonium removal in a field-scale non-sewered sanitation system.The Science of the total environment · 2021Article
- Making Waves: Why water reuse frameworks need to co-evolve with emerging small-scale technologies.Water research X · 2021Review
- Faeces - Urine separation via settling and displacement: Prototype tests for a novel non-sewered sanitation system.The Science of the total environment · 2021Article
- Potential Pitfalls in Wastewater Phosphorus Analysis and How to Avoid Them.Environmental health insights · 2021Article
- Laboratory Demonstration and Preliminary Techno-Economic Analysis of an Onsite Wastewater Treatment System.Environmental science & technology · 2020Article
- Practical implementation of true on-site water recycling systems for hand washing and toilet flushing.Water research X · 2020Article
- Field testing of a household-scale onsite blackwater treatment system in Coimbatore, India.The Science of the total environment · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Innovations that enable cost-effective and resource-conserving treatment of human waste are required for the 4.2 billion people in the world who currently lack safe and reliable sanitation services. Onsite treatment and reuse of blackwater is one strategy towards this end, greatly reducing the need to transport wastewater over long distances either via sewers or trucks. Here, we report on the field testing of a prototype onsite blackwater treatment system conducted over a period of 8 months. The system was connected to a women's toilet in a public communal ablution block located in an informal settlement near Durban, South Africa. Liquid waste was treated by separation and diversion of large solids, settling of suspended solids, and filtration through activated carbon prior to disinfection by electrochemical oxidation. System performance was monitored daily by measurement of chemical and physical water quality parameters onsite and confirmed by periodic detailed analysis of chemical and biological parameters at an offsite lab. Daily monitoring of system performance indicated that the effluent had minimal color and turbidity (maximum 90 Pt/Co units and 6.48 NTU, respectively), and consistent evolution of chlorine as blackwater passed through the system. Weekly offsite analysis confirmed that the system consistently inactivated pathogens (E. coli and coliforms) and reduced chemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids to meet ISO 30500 category B standards. Significant reductions in total nitrogen load were also observed, though these reductions often fell short of the 70% reduction required by ISO 30500. No significant reduction in total phosphorus was observed. Maintenance requirements were identified, and the resilience of the system to restart following a prolonged shutdown was demonstrated, but significant improvements are required in the design of the solid/liquid separation mechanism for application of this system in a wiping culture.
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Registered trials
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