Scientists at Duke University in the U.S. have developed and are testing a pilot fecal sludge treatment unit that fits in a 20-foot shipping container and treats the fecal matter of roughly 1000 people using a new supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) process. The SCWO technology can covert any type of organic waste (fecal, food waste, paper, plastic, etc.) to energy and clean water.
The waste (sludge) is reacted with air at temperatures and pressures above the critical point of water (374 °C, 221 Bar) to convert all of the organics into clean water and CO in seconds. Byproducts include distilled water, clean water which contains suspended inorganic minerals that can be utilized as fertilizers. The unit generates more than 900 liters of water for each ton of processed waste and the water can be processed further to drinking water.
The continuous process utilizes the energy embedded in the waste, thus enabling operating off-the-grid. 374Water is a Duke University spin-off company aiming to commercialize the SCWO technology.