Sanitising Faecal Sludge with Ammonia (From Urea) in the Context of Emergency Situations

Masters Thesis

In an emergency situation, the collection, treatment and disposal of the human excreta and waste in a safe way is one of the biggest challenges to face, regardless the type of disaster. When it comes to faecal sludge management, the traditional desludging methods can often not be appropriate in an acute emergency phase. Consequently, relief organisations aim to apply new and simple approaches and modular technologies that are effective in terms of cost and time.
For this thesis the ammonia-based sanitation by the addition of urea was studied as an innovative approach for faecal sludge treatment. The research was designed to assess the required conditions and factors affecting the formation of the sanitising agent ammonia (NH3).