Final Report | Decentralized Waste Treatment and Energy Recovery in Kigali, Rwand...

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Final Report: Decentralized Waste Treatment and Energy Recovery in Kigali, Rwanda
EPA Grant Number: SU833175

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Title: Decentralized Waste Treatment and Energy Recovery in Kigali, Rwanda Investigators: Striebig, Bradley A. , Appel, Philip , Avdeyev, Natalya , Bryant, Robert , Dacquisto, John F. , Elder, Andrew , Kane, Rachel , Luu, Annie , Martinez, Luis , Norwood, Susan , Odle, Christopher , Pavese, Christopher , Ravenna, Nicholas , Reiner, Mark , Rudie, Keith , Shenoy, Sushil , Stiger, Robert , Stippel, Joseph , Traore, Mohamed Institution: Gonzaga University EPA Project Officer: Nolt-Helms, Cynthia Project Period: September 30, 2006 through May 30, 2007 Project Amount: $10,000 RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2006) Research Category: Nanotechnology , P3 Challenge Area - Water , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development

Description:
Objective: The United Nations (UN) has developed the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) program to reduce poverty and improve access to water and sanitation throughout the developing world.1 The UN has specifically stated a goal to halve the number of people without access to clean water and sanitation by 2015.2 On March 19th, 2006, a statement by the UN noted this goal was in jeopardy in Sub-Saharan Africa due to drought, poverty and political factors.2 In short, experts in the field of sustainable development believe providing clean water and sanitation for sub-Saharan Africa is one of the worlds greatest challenges. Currently, there is almost no treatment of water or wastewater in Kigali, Rwanda. This leads to the contamination of water in the watersheds surrounding Kigali. Contaminated water and lack of sanitary wastewater treatment infrastructure has lead to the spread of waterborne disease around the urban fringe, or para-urban area, surrounding Kigali. Increasing population concentrations in the para-urban areas of Kigali, such as the area called Kimisange, prevent traditional latrine designs from effectively stabilizing wastewater in the Kigali watershed. Western style centralized treatment systems are too expensive for those living in poverty in the para-urban areas. Sustainable and inexpensive alternatives to the power and capital intensive needs of traditional centralized water and wastewater treatment plants are required for Rwanda, an energy and capital poor country. The current lack of wastewater treatment is compounding human health and ecological problems. Improvements in the provision of sanitation services are a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.

Figure 3.1: Cayahafi neighborhood on the urban fringe of Kigali, Rwanda Decentralized water and waste treatment technologies that provide substantial benefits to human health and the environment were designed in Phase 1 and will be implemented in Phase 2. The concepts proposed herein will contribute to an integrated watershed management approach for improving water quality and sustainable development in Kimisange and other communities around Kigali. Hypothesis: Appropriate decentralized technologies (rainwater harvesting, water filtration, upflow clarification, anaerobic digestion, biogas generation and biosolids reuse) will be combined in an innovative design to improve water quality in the Kigali watershed and conserve natural resources for future generations. The purpose of Phase 1 was to prevent the people of Kimisange from running out of water daily by providing them with access to clean water. With access to clean water, the overall quality of life will greatly improve because of its positive impacts on health and sanitation. In addition, a biogas digester was designed for Kimisange that will treat wastewater and produce a steady, sustainable, and inexpensive fuel as a byproduct of this treatment process. The objectives of Phase 1 were to develop a low-cost, sustainable water infrastructure that will provide each Rwandan with 30 liters of water every day of the year and provide a renewable energy source. Water delivery and treatment techniques were designed to protect the environment and provide economic relief in the form of lower costs for basic water and wastewater services. The scope of Phase 1 was to complete a comparative analysis of existing water distribution, water treatment and wastewater treatment systems in order to find the most appropriate technology for Kimisange. Applicability was based upon sustainability, cost, and feasibility. A low cost drinking water filter technology was evaluated and an appropriate biogas digester technology for Rwanda was selected and a prototype digester was built. The digester effectiveness on biogas production and the removal efficiency were observed. Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes): With the collection of 85% of the rainwater, the recommended roof design is able to provide 30 liters of water for every member of the household every day of the year. The rainwater harvesting technology also provides a low-cost option since all the materials used are locally available. Most cannot afford to purchase 30 liters of water per day based on their current monthly income of $10.3 The proposed water filter can be manufactured in Rwanda with local resources. Agricultural waste products such as coconut shells, biogas and cashew husks will be incorporated into the filter manufacturing process. The use of renewable energy sources such as the biogas generated from the upflow clarifier to manufacture durable water filters for water purification should decrease reliance upon non-renewable fossil fuels and decrease contraband tree harvesting required for boiling water upon implementation in Rwanda.

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The literature showed the upflow clarifier was relatively inexpensive to build and produced a large amount of methane that could be safely stored. The effluent of the clarifier was found to be nearly in compliance with EPA accepted concentrations of BOD and TSS. It was also the technology where the innovation could produce the greatest effect on cost and effluent water quality. Furthermore the clarifier could be built out of nearly all local materials, such as clay and concrete. Approximately 30 m3 a day, for 300 days a year (to account for maintenance time and time to startup) were estimated for biogas production. Operations and maintenance costs consisted of labor for four operators each paid $1.50 a day and $100 of supplies yearly. The resulting cost of wastewater treatment and gas production was calculated to be $0.24 US/m3 of gas. One cubic meter of biogas is required to cook three meals daily for a family of six people.4 The biogas digester can produce enough biogas to provide 90 meals per day, allowing each family to cook two meals per day or provide additional energy for other applications. With the assumption of eight people per household, the daily cost for a household is $0.23 or $0.0288/person. This cost is more significantly less than the current cost of imported oil. Providing access to water and sanitation can be directly correlated to the improvement of the overall quality of life. Community-focused projects, such as this one, directly address the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations. The quantifiable benefits are as follows: MDG 1: Help eradicate poverty Problems of poverty are linked to the availability of water and sanitation. Improving access to water, sanitation and affordable energy can contribute to poverty eradication.5 MDG 4: Reduce child mortality 84% of deaths caused by diarrhea are associated with children aged 5 and under.5 Approximately 770 children under the age of 5 will be saved from death.5,6 MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases The number of water-related diseases is reduced. The number of deaths caused by diarrhea, which is the leading cause of water-related diseases of all age groups, reduces by 25% with improved access to water.7 Conclusions: A sustainable approach for supplying basic services to the low-income housing area of Kimisange was developed. The proposed plan incorporates rainwater harvesting which will supply each member of the community with 30 liters of water per day. Water will be treated to remove microscopic particles and bacteria with a combination of a locally produced ceramic filter and activated carbon. The drinking water is expected to meet WHO standards. Wastewater from the community will be treated in small clusters of homes with an anaerobic upflow clarifier. The wastewater treatment process will significantly decrease stress on the surrounding environment due to wastewater pollution and provide a renewable energy source. The biogas from the anaerobic clarifier can be used for cooking and manufacturing the filters and carbon used in the drinking water filters. It is well documented that a holistic approach to supplying water, wastewater treatment and energy yields the greatest returns both economically and in terms of human health. Phase II of the proposed projects will help transfer the proposed technologies to KIST and the community of Kimisange, Rwanda. Project Period for Phase II: September 30th, 2007 to May 30th, 2009 Proposed Phase II Objectives and Strategies: As of 2002, Kigali City had 131,106 households, a total population of 604,966 inhabitants (approximately 56% are age 20 years or less) and an annual growth rate of 10% (i.e., population will double every 7 years). The poverty rate for Rwanda increased from 48% in 1985 to 68% in 2000.8 The project, if replicated, is expected to have a significant health and economic impact on the entire population of Kigali and those living downstream. The project will provide drinking water, improved sanitation and renewable sources of cooking fuel and fertilizer. The technical objectives for the Phase II P3 grant include; A detailed engineering design and drawing for the rainwater harvesting system Implementing the rainwater harvesting design on a KIST demonstration home in Kimisange Transferring drinking water filtration technology to KIST and demonstrating the technology in the community Pilot scale construction of an anaerobic upflow digester at GU and KIST Evaluation of water quality and biogas production from the pilot scale upflow reactor and a direct comparison to the fixed dome digester at KIST Epidemiological survey and baseline health assessment in Kimisange or a similar community

There is a unique opportunity to work with small communities in Kigali and the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to develop and optimize a scalable decentralized waste to energy process that could be replicated within the administrative cells of Kigali. The design could easily be adapted to the rural villages with similar climates and topography. The proposed solution will capture and treat water and human wastes which will protect existing fragile wetlands and downstream water resources. Recovery of biogas will be used for cooking fuel and will reduce deforestation due to the need to harvest wood for cooking. Recovery of nutrients in composted fertilizer will improve crop yields, thereby reducing the need to clear additional land to find suitable soils. The existing forests and resulting tourism is a huge economic resource for Rwanda and the protection of these forests and the endangered species within them is a very high priority for the Rwandan government. Journal Articles: No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this project Supplemental Keywords: Sustainable development, community-based, human health, rainwater harvesting, decentralized treatment, sub-Saharan Africa,, Water, TREATMENT/CONTROL, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, Sustainable Industry/Business, RFA, Technology for Sustainable Environment, Wastewater, Sustainable Environment, Water Pollution Control, Environmental Engineering, Urban and Regional Planning, International, treatment, wastewater treatment, urban planning, Rwanda, sustainable development, resource recovery, rainwater harvesting, environmentally conscious design, pollution prevention, renewable resource Relevant Websites:

http://www.cs.gonzaga.edu/rwanda Progress and Final Reports: Original Abstract

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