To purify water from toilet
TRCT and ECOPLUS have been working together to set up the pilot site to purify the water from toilet in Thol village. The system has completed in mid-March, and it will be tested in coming months and years. The project is supported by Japan Fund for Global Environment, JFGE.
The system was designed by Professor, Nakano Kazunori of Nihon University in Japan. To decompose human waste and purify the wastewater, the system uses natural mechanism called as “artificial wetland”.
Human waste is not harmful as it is, since it comes out from human body. However, if it just soaked into the ground, in the deeper part, Nitrogen will be changed into nitrate nitrogen, which is harmful for human. Contamination of underground water by the nitrate nitrogen is one of serious risks for cancers.
To avoid such contamination, Oxygen rich environment will avoid making nitrate nitrogen.
So, Prof. Nakano designed the system to use oxygen, or air, mixed environment. The first and second layer of the system are packed with rough gravels and smaller ones with 1 foot thickness. The last layer is 1-foot-thick sea sand. Passing through those filters which contains air, wastewater will be composed and purified.
Such system is already in use in Japan. This time it will be tested in different climate condition from Japan. During the next months and years, the system will be checked, be maintained and will be changed accordingly.