Considerations in developing a biologically-based decentralised water treatment solution for the global market: PRESENTATION ONLY
Hannon, L.1, Herron, D.2, Perfido, D.2, Dussaussois, J.4, Salvado, V.5 and Clifford, E.1, 1College of Engineering and Informatics, NUI Galway, Ireland, 2Aqua Enviro, UK, 3 R2M s.r.l., Italy, 3Nobatek, France, 5University of Girona, Spain
(free)
The need for access to safely managed sanitation is well documented, however this fundamental need and basic human right continues to elude 2.3 billion people globally (Unicef, 2017). The INNOQUA project seeks to progress a sustainable solution to this challenge by accelerating the path to market of a modular, innovative and ecological sanitation system that addresses the needs of both developing and developing countries worldwide by targeting rural communities, agricultural industries and decentralised housing and commercial developments.
The challenge of developing a solution that can satisfy the diverse demands of a varied global market as represented by the 13 INNOQUA demonstration sites on four continents are examined in this paper. The expected influent characteristics, physical, chemical and biological by region, are analysed as are the legislative requirements in terms of discharge. The sometimes conflicting requirements of a system that needs to cater for climate variations and geography are examined. The paper considers the role that is played by an environment’s physical and technological infrastructure and how these issues can potentially be overcome by design. Finally this study demonstrates the critical importance of cultural diversity and social acceptability in the successful adoption of sanitation systems and in particular biologically based systems.
