MicrobialSludgeQuality – Development of a field test kit for the microbial quality control and detection of pathogens in untreated and treated faecal sludge
Abstract
In an urban emergency context disposal and treatment of fecal sludge is of paramount importance. The Emergency Sanitation Project Phase I (a collaboration of several large humanitarian aid organizations and the industry) has clearly identified the need for a field laboratory solution in order to control the quality of the treatment process. The MicrobialSludgeQuality (MSQ) project picks up and focuses on this open research and development question. The aim of the MSQ project is the development of a field testing kit for the quality control of fecal sludge treatment plants in an urban sanitation emergency context. The proposed kit will include the analytical capacity to detect several microbial indicator organisms, as well as the possibility to assess the sludge degradation rate during the treatment process. After the analysis of secondary data, the first step of the project will be the transfer of standard fixed laboratory techniques to field conditions and use. This development will be accompanied by laboratory test runs to ensure the analytical soundness of the process. In a second step and based on the results of the previous work package, it is planned to develop the prototype field testing kit in collaboration between research and industrial partners. The prototype will be tested during a field trial in a fecal sludge treatment plant. The final milestone is the transferal of the prototype into a product available at the industrial partner of the project. The progress of the project will be evaluated by an advisory board consisting of members of the scientific and humanitarian community.
keywords Fecal sludge managment Field test kit Quality control disaster response and risk reduction
Publikationen
Project staff
BOKU partners
External partners
Butyl Products Ltd Group
Craig Ball
partner
WASTE advisers on urban environment and development
Jan Spit
partner
Austrian Red Cross, General Secretariat
Georg Ecker
partner