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Do not waste your toilet’s sludge, It is Valuable – Research shows
Posted by: peter
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Posted date:
January 28, 2012 |
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Many people in Rwanda still use the old way of toilet systems, where even modern flashing toilets trench their waste into long deep un cemented halls. These halls are so rampant that perpetuators of the 1994 Tutsi genocide would dump thousands of innocents inside.
With a need to have water and food security, a new style of toilets has to be adopted for sludge depositing as the following research of A.Uwimana, I.Nhapi, U.G Wali, Z.Hoko and J.Kashaigili (www.environmental expert.com) shows;
“A study was carried out to characterize the sludge produced at Kadahokwa Water Treatment Plant (KWTP) in Butare to assess the effectiveness of the sludge treatment and potential impacts of sludge disposal on the environment.
Parameters analyzed were chromium, nickel, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, aluminium, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, potassium and cation exchange capacity (CEC). The results showed that 450±244.5 tons (dry weight) of sludge are produced annually.
The concentrations of heavy metals in the sludge were below the standard limits for land application set by different countries. The high concentrations of nickel (42.3±2.5 ppm), chromium (29.9±6.2 ppm), cadmium (1.1±0.3 ppm) and lead (31.6±3.7 ppm) in the dried sludge posed a pollution risk for the wetland. The CEC was 28.4–33.3 cmol (+)/kg and pH was 6.50–7.45.
Conclusions;
- KWTP sludge is a poor source of total carbon, a moderate source of nutrients (NPK), and an important source of micronutrients, making it generally suitable for reuse for crop production.
- The CEC showed that the sludge could improve soil nutrient and water holding capacity.
- The higher concentration of aluminium (280 ppm) in the sludge creates an opportunity for recycling.”
Of course ordinarily it is difficult to prove to anyone that faeces and urine are worth any coin, but with the cost of NPK (fertilizers) being at $513 about 308,000Rfrs, one might imagine whichever proportion of NPK that can be in KWTP can cost. Therefore as you construct a toilet, think of constructing modern septic tanks, that will store that valuable sludge and there after call www.kssrwanda.com to make the following processes.