Introducing two recent papers on the Nano Membrane Toilet:

The Nano Membrane Toilet needs a waterless flush to reduce the amount oif loiquif that needs to be processed subsequhnekly.   A prototype was tested in a semi-public, institutional setting and in selected peri-urban households in eThekwini municipality, Republic of South Africa. The mechanism's functionality and users' perception of the flush were assessed. User perception varied depending on background: Users accustomed to porcelain water flush toilets were open to, yet reserved about the idea of using a waterless flush in their homes. Those who commonly use Urine Diversion Dehydration Toilets were far more receptive. The user-centred field trials were complemented by a controlled laboratory experiment, using synthetic urine, -faeces, and -menstrual blood, to systematically assess the efficiency of three swipe materials to clean the rotating bowl of the flush. A silicone rubber with oil-bleed-effect was found to be the best performing material for the swipe. Lubrication of the bowl prior to use further reduced fouling. The full papaer is available to download for free:

 Jan Hennigs; Kristin T Ravndal; Thubelihle Blose; Anju Toolaram; Rebecca C Sindall; Dani J Barrington; Matt Collins; Bhavin Engineer; Athanasios J Kolios; Ewan McAdam; Alison Parker; Leon Williams, (2019)
Field testing of a prototype mechanical toilet flush, Science of the Total Environment 668, 419-431

The Nano Membrane Toilet will produce water as an output.   When considering how this water could be reused locally smell is a really important factor in determining user acceptance.   This paper describes a new method for quantifying faecal odour in liquids.   It was trialled using some faecally contaminated urine that had been filtered by membranes that are being considered for the Nano Membrane Toilet.   Some membranes were better at blocking the volatile organic compounds that cause odour, but others blocked only the smelliest, giving a more pleasant odour overall.   The full papaer is available to download for free:

Edwina Mercer; Chris J Davey; Pablo Campo; Dawn Fowler; Leon Williams; Athanasios Kolios; Alison Parker; Sean Tyrrel; Chris Walton; Elise Cartmell; Marc Pidou, Ewan Macadam, (2019) Quantification of liquid phase faecal odour to evaluate membranetechnology for wastewater reuse from decentralised sanitation facilities, Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology 5, 161-171