The membrane module is a core component of the toilet, allowing us to get clean water from faecally contaminated urine. Experimental work has defined the tube-side mass transfer coefficient
derived in hollow fibre membrane contactors of different characteristic length
scales (equivalent diameter and fibre length) under the slow flow conditions
that are expected in the toilet.
The work is described in detail in a paper in the Journal of Membrane Science, which is free to download:
Yang, C.Y., E. Mercer, F.
Kamranvand, L. Williams, A. Kolios, A. Parker, S. Tyrrel, E. Cartmell, E.J.
McAdam Tube-side mass transfer forhollow fibre membrane contactors operated in the low Graetz range, Journal of Membrane Science 523, 235–246
Transformation of the tube-side mass transfer coefficient derived in
hollow fibre membrane contactors (HFMC) of different characteristic
length scales (equivalent diameter and fibre length) has been studied
when operated in the low Graetz range (Gz<10). Within the low Gz range, mass transfer is generally described by the Graetz problem (Sh=3.67)
which assumes that the concentration profile comprises a constant shape
over the fibre radius. In this study, it is experimentally evidenced
that this assumption over predicts mass transfer within the low Graetz
range. Furthermore, within the low Gz range (below 2), a proportional relationship between the experimentally determined mass transfer coefficient (Kov) and the Graetz number has been identified. For Gz numbers below 2, the experimental Sh
number approached unity, which suggests that mass transfer is strongly
dependent upon diffusion. However, within this diffusion controlled
region of mass transfer, tube-side fluid velocity remained important.
For Gz numbers above 2, Sh could be satisfactorily
described by extension to the Lévêque solution, which can be ascribed to
the constrained growth of the concentration boundary layer adjacent to
the fibre wall. Importantly this study demonstrates that whilst mass
transfer in the low Graetz range does not explicitly conform to either
the Graetz problem or classical Lévêque solution, it is possible to
transform the experimentally derived overall mass transfer coefficient (Kov) between characteristic length scales (dh and L). This was corroborated by comparison of the empirical relationship determined in this study (Sh=0.36Gz) with previously published studies operated in the low Gz
range. This analysis provides important insight for process design when
slow tube-side flows, or low Schmidt numbers (coincident with gases)
constrain operation of hollow fibre membrane contactors to the low Gz range.
Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
New funding and new video announced!
We have just recevied news that we have successfully been awarded a new phase of funding; we are also launchign a new video explaining our latest vision for the toilet. Our press release is copied below:
Cranfield University's Nano Membrane Toilet project has landed a major funding boost to secure the next phase of development of a novel and sustainable sanitation solution for the benefit of the huge number of people around the world who currently have no hope of being able to access a clean and affordable toilet in their home.
Dr Alison Parker, from the Cranfield Water Science Institute, said; "This is a great moment; the new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support our research teams in water, energy and design to tackle the considerable challenge of turning the laboratory prototype Nano Membrane Toilet into a product for the marketplace."
The Nano Membrane Toilet uses a waterless flush; a unique rotating mechanism that drops the waste into a holding tank whilst simultaneously blocking odour and the user's view of the waste. The solids then settle to the bottom of the tank, while the liquids float on the top. The solids are transported out of the tank by mechanical screw into a combustor where they are burnt and transformed into ash. The heat generated can be converted into electricity which is used to power toilet operations, and any residual energy is used for charging mobile phones or other low voltage items. The liquids pass over a weir in the holding chamber and into the membranes bundle. The unique nanostructure membrane allows clean water to be extracted from the waste which can subsequently be used in the household for washing or watering plants.
The toilet is designed for single-household use (up to ten people) and accepts urine and faeces as a mixture. Developed with the aspirations and needs of the user in mind, it is small and easy to transport to locations where there is no access to a water supply and sewer. In comparison to the public toilets relied on by urban communities around the world, a household toilet offers convenience, dignity and security especially for vulnerable groups like women, the disabled and the elderly.
A new video has also been released highlighting some of the recent innovations and improvements to the toilet. With World Toilet Day (19th November) helping to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis, Cranfield's toilet is attracting interest from around the world, and was recently showcased at the Toilet Investment Summit in Mumbai, India.
Cranfield University's Nano Membrane Toilet project has landed a major funding boost to secure the next phase of development of a novel and sustainable sanitation solution for the benefit of the huge number of people around the world who currently have no hope of being able to access a clean and affordable toilet in their home.
Dr Alison Parker, from the Cranfield Water Science Institute, said; "This is a great moment; the new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will support our research teams in water, energy and design to tackle the considerable challenge of turning the laboratory prototype Nano Membrane Toilet into a product for the marketplace."
The Nano Membrane Toilet uses a waterless flush; a unique rotating mechanism that drops the waste into a holding tank whilst simultaneously blocking odour and the user's view of the waste. The solids then settle to the bottom of the tank, while the liquids float on the top. The solids are transported out of the tank by mechanical screw into a combustor where they are burnt and transformed into ash. The heat generated can be converted into electricity which is used to power toilet operations, and any residual energy is used for charging mobile phones or other low voltage items. The liquids pass over a weir in the holding chamber and into the membranes bundle. The unique nanostructure membrane allows clean water to be extracted from the waste which can subsequently be used in the household for washing or watering plants.
The toilet is designed for single-household use (up to ten people) and accepts urine and faeces as a mixture. Developed with the aspirations and needs of the user in mind, it is small and easy to transport to locations where there is no access to a water supply and sewer. In comparison to the public toilets relied on by urban communities around the world, a household toilet offers convenience, dignity and security especially for vulnerable groups like women, the disabled and the elderly.
A new video has also been released highlighting some of the recent innovations and improvements to the toilet. With World Toilet Day (19th November) helping to raise awareness and inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis, Cranfield's toilet is attracting interest from around the world, and was recently showcased at the Toilet Investment Summit in Mumbai, India.
Wednesday, 9 November 2016
Nano Membrane Toilet in India
A 25% scale model of The Nano Membrane Toilet will be on display next week at two venues in India. Firstly at the Toilet Investment Summit in Mumbai (15-17 Nov), and secondly at the British Counil Education Fair in Delhi on 19th Nov.
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Modelling water and energy recovery
The last in the current series of three papers from our Energy team. This one describes the potential water and energy recovery from the Nano Membrane Toilet and how the recovery of these two resources can be balanced. An exciting conclusion is that the toilet should have a net power output equivalent to a USB port peak power, enough for charging a mobile phone.
With about 2.4 billion people worldwide without access to improved sanitation facilities, there is a strong incentive for development of novel sanitation systems to improve the quality of life and reduce mortality. The Nano Membrane Toilet is expected to provide a unique household-scale system that would produce electricity and recover water from human excrement and urine. This study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of the conceptual energy and water recovery system for the Nano Membrane Toilet designed for a household of ten people and to assess its self-sustainability. A process model of the entire system, including the thermochemical conversion island, a Stirling engine and a water recovery system was developed in Aspen Plus®. The energy and water recovery system for the Nano Membrane Toilet was characterised with the specific net power output of 23.1 Wh/kgsettledsolids and water recovery rate of 13.4 dm3/day in the nominal operating mode. Additionally, if no supernatant was processed, the specific net power output was increased to 69.2 Wh/kgsettledsolids. Such household-scale system would deliver the net power output (1.9–5.8 W). This was found to be enough to charge mobile phones or power clock radios, or provide light for the household using low-voltage LED bulbs.
Hanak,
D., Kolios, A., Fidalgo, B., McAdam, E., Parker, A., Williams, L., Tyrrel, S., Cartmell,
E., (2016) Conceptual energy and water recovery system for self-sustainednano-membrane toilet, Energy Conversion and Management 126, 352-361
With about 2.4 billion people worldwide without access to improved sanitation facilities, there is a strong incentive for development of novel sanitation systems to improve the quality of life and reduce mortality. The Nano Membrane Toilet is expected to provide a unique household-scale system that would produce electricity and recover water from human excrement and urine. This study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of the conceptual energy and water recovery system for the Nano Membrane Toilet designed for a household of ten people and to assess its self-sustainability. A process model of the entire system, including the thermochemical conversion island, a Stirling engine and a water recovery system was developed in Aspen Plus®. The energy and water recovery system for the Nano Membrane Toilet was characterised with the specific net power output of 23.1 Wh/kgsettledsolids and water recovery rate of 13.4 dm3/day in the nominal operating mode. Additionally, if no supernatant was processed, the specific net power output was increased to 69.2 Wh/kgsettledsolids. Such household-scale system would deliver the net power output (1.9–5.8 W). This was found to be enough to charge mobile phones or power clock radios, or provide light for the household using low-voltage LED bulbs.
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Latest prototypes on display at New Scientist Live
We have developed a new prototype based on our latest system configuration. This will be on display to the public at New Scientist Live in the Excel Centre from 22-25 Sept. We are on stand 841!
Update, here are some photos from the event:
Update, here are some photos from the event:
Thursday, 18 August 2016
Experiments to combust human faeces
The next paper in the series from our energy team describes a series of experiments to combust human faeces, which is informing the design of the gasifer. The paper is free to download from the journal "Fuel".
Poor sanitation is one of the major hindrances to the global sustainable development goals. The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is set to develop affordable, next-generation sanitary systems that can ensure safe treatment and wide accessibility without compromise on sustainable use of natural resources and the environment. Energy recovery from human excreta is likely to be a cornerstone of future sustainable sanitary systems. Faeces combustion was investigated using a bench-scale downdraft combustor test rig, alongside with wood biomass and simulant faeces. Parameters such as air flow rate, fuel pellet size, bed height, and fuel ignition mode were varied to establish the combustion operating range of the test rig and the optimum conditions for converting the faecal biomass to energy. The experimental results show that the dry human faeces had a higher energy content (∼25 MJ/kg) than wood biomass. At equivalence ratio between 0.86 and 1.12, the combustion temperature and fuel burn rate ranged from 431 to 558 °C and 1.53 to 2.30 g/min respectively. Preliminary results for the simulant faeces show that a minimum combustion bed temperature of 600 ± 10 °C can handle faeces up to 60 wt.% moisture at optimum air-to-fuel ratio. Further investigation is required to establish the appropriate trade-off limits for drying and energy recovery, considering different stool types, moisture content and drying characteristics. This is important for the design and further development of a self-sustained energy conversion and recovery systems for the NMT and similar sanitary solutions.
Onabanjo, T., Kolios, A.J., Patchigolla, K., Wagland, S., Fidalgo,
B. Jurado, N., Hanak, D.P., Manovic, V.,
Parker, A., McAdam, E., Williams, L., Tyrrel, S. (2016) Cartmell, E., An experimental investigation of the combustion performance of human faeces, Fuel 184, 780–791
Poor sanitation is one of the major hindrances to the global sustainable development goals. The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is set to develop affordable, next-generation sanitary systems that can ensure safe treatment and wide accessibility without compromise on sustainable use of natural resources and the environment. Energy recovery from human excreta is likely to be a cornerstone of future sustainable sanitary systems. Faeces combustion was investigated using a bench-scale downdraft combustor test rig, alongside with wood biomass and simulant faeces. Parameters such as air flow rate, fuel pellet size, bed height, and fuel ignition mode were varied to establish the combustion operating range of the test rig and the optimum conditions for converting the faecal biomass to energy. The experimental results show that the dry human faeces had a higher energy content (∼25 MJ/kg) than wood biomass. At equivalence ratio between 0.86 and 1.12, the combustion temperature and fuel burn rate ranged from 431 to 558 °C and 1.53 to 2.30 g/min respectively. Preliminary results for the simulant faeces show that a minimum combustion bed temperature of 600 ± 10 °C can handle faeces up to 60 wt.% moisture at optimum air-to-fuel ratio. Further investigation is required to establish the appropriate trade-off limits for drying and energy recovery, considering different stool types, moisture content and drying characteristics. This is important for the design and further development of a self-sustained energy conversion and recovery systems for the NMT and similar sanitary solutions.
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Modelling the energy recovery from human waste via gasification
The Nano Membrane Toilet will use gasification to convert the faeces to ash (rendering all pathogens harmless), but also providing an energy source for the toilet processes. The Cranfield team have been working to understand the science behind the gasification of faeces to inform the final design of the gasifier. The first piece of this work is now published in the journal "Energy Conversion and Management" - open access of course!
Abstract
T. Onabanjo, K. Patchigolla, S.T. Wagland, B. Fidalgo, A. Kolios, E. McAdam, A. Parker, L.Williams, S. Tyrrel, E. Cartmell, Energy recovery from human faeces via gasification: A thermodynamic equilibrium modelling approach,
Non-sewered sanitary systems (NSS) are emerging as one of the solutions to poor sanitation because of the limitations of the conventional flush toilet. These new sanitary systems are expected to safely treat faecal waste and operate without external connections to a sewer, water supply or energy source. The Nano Membrane Toilet (NMT) is a unique domestic-scale sanitary solution currently being developed to treat human waste on-site. This toilet will employ a small-scale gasifier to convert human faeces into products of high energy value. This study investigated the suitability of human faeces as a feedstock for gasification. It quantified the recoverable exergy potential from human faeces and explored the optimal routes for thermal conversion, using a thermodynamic equilibrium model. Fresh human faeces were found to have approximately 70–82 wt.% moisture and 3–6 wt.% ash. Product gas resulting from a typical dry human faeces (0 wt.% moisture) had LHV and exergy values of 17.2 MJ/kg and 24 MJ/kg respectively at optimum equivalence ratio of 0.31, values that are comparable to wood biomass. For suitable conversion of moist faecal samples, near combustion operating conditions are required, if an external energy source is not supplied. This is however at 5% loss in the exergy value of the gas, provided both thermal heat and energy of the gas are recovered. This study shows that the maximum recoverable exergy potential from an average adult moist human faeces can be up to 15 MJ/kg, when the gasifier is operated at optimum equivalence ratio of 0.57, excluding heat losses, distribution or other losses that result from operational activities.
Friday, 6 May 2016
Latest system configuration
After a period of intense technical development of the Nano Membrane Toilet we're pleased to be able to share our latest diagram of the system configuration:
We're also starting to publish some of the science behind the Nano Membrane Toilet in open access academic journals, watch this space!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)