IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i9p4935-d545088.html

Solar Thermal Processing to Disinfect Human Waste

Author

Listed:
  • Richard P. Fisher

    (Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 3415 Colorado Ave, UCB 596, Boulder, CO 80309-0596, USA)

  • Allan Lewandowski

    (Solar Consulting, LLC, 505 Madison Street, Denver, CO 80206, USA)

  • Tesfayohanes W. Yacob

    (Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, UCB 607, Boulder, CO 80309-0607, USA
    Current address is Environmental Resources Engineering, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA.)

  • Barbara J. Ward

    (Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, UCB 607, Boulder, CO 80309-0607, USA)

  • Lauren M. Hafford

    (Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, UCB 607, Boulder, CO 80309-0607, USA)

  • Ryan B. Mahoney

    (Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, UCB 607, Boulder, CO 80309-0607, USA)

  • Cori J. Oversby

    (Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, UCB 607, Boulder, CO 80309-0607, USA)

  • Dragan Mejic

    (Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 3415 Colorado Ave, UCB 596, Boulder, CO 80309-0596, USA)

  • Dana H. Hauschulz

    (Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 3415 Colorado Ave, UCB 596, Boulder, CO 80309-0596, USA)

  • R. Scott Summers

    (Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, UCB 607, Boulder, CO 80309-0607, USA)

  • Karl G. Linden

    (Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 4001 Discovery Drive, UCB 607, Boulder, CO 80309-0607, USA)

  • Alan W. Weimer

    (Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, 3415 Colorado Ave, UCB 596, Boulder, CO 80309-0596, USA)

Abstract

Almost half of the world’s population is living without access to sanitation services that are safe, reliable, and minimize public health risk of human waste exposure. Modern flush-based sanitation networks are unsustainable: substantial resources, namely water and fuel, are required to bring human waste to centralized treatment facilities. Moving toward sustainable sanitation requires the implementation of innovative renewable energy technologies for stabilization and disinfection of waste, at the local or household scale, where minimal inputs of water, electricity or chemicals are required. A novel solar thermal disinfection toilet prototype has been constructed and is assessed for overall solar to receiver efficiency in treating waste without electrical, chemical, or water inputs from municipal supply. The measured solar to receiver efficiency is 28%, incorporating the capturing and concentration of sunlight and transmission of the energy to the receiver. For a typical sunny day, the current system can achieve thermal treatment of 0.8 kg human waste in roughly 100 min. The novel toilet is available for any location in the world with sufficient sunlight and irradiance data, and is scalable by adding solar collectors for sizes from single dwellings to communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard P. Fisher & Allan Lewandowski & Tesfayohanes W. Yacob & Barbara J. Ward & Lauren M. Hafford & Ryan B. Mahoney & Cori J. Oversby & Dragan Mejic & Dana H. Hauschulz & R. Scott Summers & Karl G. , 2021. "Solar Thermal Processing to Disinfect Human Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4935-:d:545088
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4935/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4935/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kandilli, C. & Ulgen, K., 2009. "Review and modelling the systems of transmission concentrated solar energy via optical fibres," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 67-84, January.
    2. Gupta, Divya & Fischer, Harry & Shrestha, Suchita & Shoaib Ali, Syed & Chhatre, Ashwini & Devkota, Kamal & Fleischman, Forrest & Khatri, Dil B. & Rana, Pushpendra, 2021. "Dark and bright spots in the shadow of the pandemic: Rural livelihoods, social vulnerability, and local governance in India and Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    3. Mahmud, Mahreen & Riley, Emma, 2021. "Household response to an extreme shock: Evidence on the immediate impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on economic outcomes and well-being in rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Joshua Freeman & Walajabad Sampath & Krishnashree Achuthan, 2025. "Tilt–Roll Heliostats and Non-Flat Heliostat Field Topographies for Compact, Energy-Dense Rooftop-Scale and Urban Central Receiver Solar Thermal Systems for Sustainable Industrial Process Heat," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-32, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hausmann, Ricardo & Schetter, Ulrich, 2022. "Horrible trade-offs in a pandemic: Poverty, fiscal space, policy, and welfare," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    2. Furbush, Ann M. & Josephson, Anna & Kilic, Talip & Michler, Jeffrey D., 2025. "Coping or hoping? Livelihood diversification and food insecurity in the COVID-19 pandemic," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    3. Shilpa Aggarwal & Dahyeon Jeong & Naresh Kumar & David Sungho Park & Jonathan Robinson & Alan Spearot, 2022. "COVID-19 market disruptions and food security: Evidence from households in rural Liberia and Malawi," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(8), pages 1-19, August.
    4. Hammond, James & Siegal, Kim & Milner, Daniel & Elimu, Emmanuel & Vail, Taylor & Cathala, Paul & Gatera, Arsene & Karim, Azfar & Lee, Ja-Eun & Douxchamps, Sabine & Tu, Mai Thanh & Ouma, Emily & Lukuyu, 2022. "Perceived effects of COVID-19 restrictions on smallholder farmers: Evidence from seven lower- and middle-income countries," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    5. repec:idq:ictduk:17935 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. repec:idq:ictduk:16468 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Pallavi Choudhuri & Sonalde Desai, 2026. "Changes in the household expenditure basket in India during COVID-19," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 54(13), pages 405-440.
    8. Hai-Anh H. Dang & Cuong Viet Nguyen, 2024. "Agricultural Production as a Coping Strategy during the Covid-19 Pandemic? Evidence from Rural Viet Nam," Working Papers DP-2023-23, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    9. Rocha, Fabiana & Diaz, Maria Dolores Montoya & Pereda, Paula Carvalho & Árabe, Isadora Bousquat & Cavalcanti, Filipe & Lordemus, Samuel & Kreif, Noemi & Moreno-Serra, Rodrigo, 2024. "COVID-19 and violence against women: Current knowledge, gaps, and implications for public policy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    10. Lowe, Matt & Nadhanael, G.V. & Roth, Benjamin N., 2021. "India’s food supply chain during the pandemic," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    11. Noraziani Khamis & Intan Syafinaz Saimy & Nor Hayati Ibrahim & Nur Khairah Badaruddin & Nor Zam Azihan Mohd Hassan & Faridah Kusnin & Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu & Masitah Mohamed, 2021. "Progression of the Pathway for Public Health Care during the COVID-19 Outbreak at District Health Office," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-18, October.
    12. Carlos Frederico A. Vasconcelos-Neto & Michelle Jacob & Daniel Tregidgo & Denis Valle & Hani R. El Bizri & Sávio Marcelino Gomes & Julia E. Fa & Thais Q. Morcatty & Frederico Ozanan Barros Monteiro & , 2025. "COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated food insecurity in South American countries," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 17(4), pages 1001-1022, August.
    13. Rosa Luz Durán, 2022. "COVID-19 and heterogeneous vulnerabilities in the Peruvian labor market: implications for social inequalities and for gender gaps," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(1), pages 129-156, April.
    14. Verena Preusse & Manuel Santos Silva & Linda Steinhübel & Meike Wollni, 2024. "Covid‐19 and agricultural labor supply: Evidence from the rural–urban interface of an Indian mega‐city," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(2), pages 391-415, April.
    15. Nan Li & Muzi Chen & Difang Huang, 2022. "How Do Logistics Disruptions Affect Rural Households? Evidence from COVID-19 in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    16. Adam Pain & Sanjaya Khatri & Kristina Marquardt & Dil Bahadur Khatri, 2025. "Dancing with Uncertainty in the Himalayas in Times of Multiple Crises," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 25(1), pages 45-63, January.
    17. Aminou Arouna & Souleïmane A. Adekambi & Rachidi Aboudou & Wilfried Gnipabo Yergo & Gaudiose Mujawamariya, 2024. "Impact assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic on the income and food security of rice smallholder producers in five African countries," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(11), pages 1-20, November.
    18. Hamenoo, Emma Seyram, 2024. "Social workers’ perspective on the impact of Covid-19 on clients’ vulnerability in Ghana," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    19. Ouoba, Youmanli & Sawadogo, Natéwindé, 2022. "Food security, poverty and household resilience to COVID-19 in Burkina Faso: Evidence from urban small traders’ households," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    20. Hamza Umer & Takashi Kurosaki, 2025. "Effects of the Covid-19 and natural agricultural shocks on preferences of farmers," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    21. Mendoza Castellanos, Luis Sebastian & Carrillo Caballero, Gaylord Enrique & Melian Cobas, Vladimir Rafael & Silva Lora, Electo Eduardo & Martinez Reyes, Arnaldo Martin, 2017. "Mathematical modeling of the geometrical sizing and thermal performance of a Dish/Stirling system for power generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 23-35.
    22. Hai-Anh H. Dang & Djavad Salehi-Isfahani & Minh N. N. Do, 2025. "The impact of COVID-19 on female labor force participation in Iran," Middle East Development Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 174-197, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4935-:d:545088. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.