A new sanitation system for slums in urban dense areas

A new sanitation system for slums in urban dense areas

Melgarejo Fuentes, M.A.

Crul, M. (mentor)
Roscam Abbing, E. (mentor)
Talsma, L. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Design Engineering

Design for Sustainability

2012-08-29

Around 2.6 billion people in the world do not have access to proper sanitation solutions, leading to many social, economical and health related problems. This report elaborates on “Clean Alliance” a product-service-system based in the provision of adaptable toilet booth availability supported by a waste processing Mini Multi Product Plant (MMPP). This project is elaborated as part of the TU Delft chapter of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The main objective of the challenge is to incentivize the development of sanitation solutions based on new technologies at an affordable price. The TU Delft proposed to develop a Mini Multi Product Plant (MMPP) in which human excreta could be processed and transformed into valuable outcomes. The core technology in this system is plasma gasification by which human excreta can be destroyed and transformed into energy in a fast an efficient way. This report elaborates on the product-service system of this MMPP in the context of the urban slums in Delhi, India. People in these slums are forced to practice open defecation, affecting with this the entire urban environment. The final design it’s based on field research and expert interviews developed in this region of the world. The final solution comprises a flexible communal sanitation system based on the provision of adaptable toilet booth availability in slums depending on the hour of the day. The system proposes fixed and mobile communal facilities enabled by the energy and resources processed by the MMPP out of human excreta. An innovative service platform and business model based in mobile networks is proposed for enabling the system. A new brand, communication, payment and tracking system are elaborated as part of an integral sanitation solution. These innovations aim at changing the way sanitation is perceived in India and in the world. A technological roadmap and implementation strategy based on social, technological and business aspects is included and presented as a basis for further developments and application of this system in the future.

design
sanitation
toilet
india
product service system
plasma gasification

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:cf4793ba-8232-4004-99f0-6db3d321d64e

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2012 Melgarejo Fuentes, M.A.