Research Abstracts

Water pollution by heavy metals and sulphates is common in areas with mineral deposits. Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are microorganisms widely distributed, and can be used as heavy metals removal agents. Furthermore, the use of organic substrates or wastes in SRB systems could reduce the cost an

Interesting prospects of a urine-based product exist as a fertilizer in agricultural applications in developing countries. However, removal of pharmaceutical residues is essential to prevent long-term environmental hazards. In this paper, the perspectives of urine collection and treatment are discus

Biosorption has emerged as an alternative sustainable strategy for cleaning up water contaminated through industrial activities and/or natural processes. Since biomaterials contain discrete reactive sites to which adsorption takes place, the biosorption process is amenable to thermodynamic treatment

Coverage of adequate sanitation facilities in rural areas in Monkey Bay is low despite initiatives by Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), government institutions and the local community. NGOs have donated cement, reinforcement bars, and moulds for making 4000 dome slabs. They also trained volunte

Sanitation coverage in the informal settlements of Cape Town is severely lagging behind. A recent inventory showed that the main barriers to the implementation of proper sanitation systems are unsuitability of the location of many settlements (more than 40% of the sites are located on private land,

To overcome the drawbacks of conventional sanitation systems, new approaches to sanitation are necessary. Human faeces and urine as well as greywater represent potential resources requiring efficient management. Thus, source-separating systems, which safe water and allow the recycling of nutrients t

This research is aimed at investigating the effect of different particle sizes of sand for the dewatering of faecal sludge with respect to the dewatering time, contaminant load in the percolate, rate of clogging and quantity of biosolids produced. Three filter media FM1, FM2 and FM3 were used to dew

Researches aiming at assessing the potentials of vertical-flow constructed wetlands vegetated with Echinochloa pyramidalis as technically feasible approach for sludge dewatering were conducted at yard-scale experimental plant in Yaounde (Cameroon). The performances of the system and the quality of t

Numerical computer modelling techniques have proven to be an invaluable tool in the assessment of water supply and drainage for buildings in a northern, industrialised context, allowing new devices and techniques to be developed leading to improvements in efficiency and reductions in costs. These me

To date, risk assessment for greywater reuse systems has almost exclusively been focussed on pathogenic microorganisms and conventional water quality parameters. Little is known about the risks from micropollutants present in greywater, nor about the potential for greywater treatment systems to act