Characterisation of blackwater from human transportation systems equipped with vacuum toilets and controlled emissions tanks and its impact on solid/liquid separation technologies

dc.contributor.authorJadhav, N.
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Tim
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, Leon
dc.contributor.authorPidou, Marc
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-30T10:16:50Z
dc.date.available2024-09-30T10:16:50Z
dc.date.freetoread2024-09-30
dc.date.issued2024-09
dc.date.pubOnline2024-08-31
dc.description.abstractThe first ever detailed characterisation of blackwater from human transportation systems equipped with vacuum toilets and Controlled Emissions Tanks (CET) revealed a stream that is very concentrated in salts and nutrients when compared to other blackwater sources. Escherichia Coli (E. coli) levels in the blackwater characterised were comparatively lower than the range reported for septic tanks, for example. Suspended solids were significantly lower than the levels found in pit latrines, but closely comparable to those reported for gravity toilets. The average COD of 3566 ± 2049 mg/L was typically lower than in pit latrines and gravity flush toilets. These findings then show that the characteristics of the blackwater from human transportation systems are directly impacted by a combination of the low flush vacuum toilets, storage in the CET, and different behaviour for passengers with increased usage for urination over defecation when compared to common uses of toilets. Such factors collectively dictate the nature of the blackwater and require that a solid/liquid separation technology for further processing is fundamentally robust in operation. The greater solids pulverisation, largely resulting from vacuum flushing combined with the storage environment, reduces the suitability of centrifugal and settling technologies whilst making filtration the most suitable option.
dc.description.journalNameJournal of Water Process Engineering
dc.description.sponsorshipThe authors acknowledge GBR-Rail Ltd. for providing the funding for this project
dc.identifier.citationJadhav N, Brown T, Williams L, Pidou M. (2024) Characterisation of blackwater from human transportation systems equipped with vacuum toilets and controlled emissions tanks and its impact on solid/liquid separation technologies. Journal of Water Process Engineering, Volume 66, September 2024, Article number 106083
dc.identifier.eissn2214-7144
dc.identifier.elementsID553300
dc.identifier.issn2214-7144
dc.identifier.paperNo106083
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.106083
dc.identifier.urihttps://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/22989
dc.identifier.volumeNo66
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214714424013151?via%3Dihub
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject40 Engineering
dc.subject4004 Chemical engineering
dc.subject4005 Civil engineering
dc.subject4011 Environmental engineering
dc.subjectBlackwater
dc.subjectControlled emission tanks
dc.subjectFaeces
dc.subjectSeparation
dc.subjectWastewater
dc.titleCharacterisation of blackwater from human transportation systems equipped with vacuum toilets and controlled emissions tanks and its impact on solid/liquid separation technologies
dc.typeArticle
dc.type.subtypeJournal Article
dcterms.dateAccepted2024-08-27

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Characterisation_of_blackwater_from_human_transportation-2024.pdf
Size:
2.47 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.63 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description: