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Engineering, Art & Tech

Guide to Sanitation Resource Recovery Products & Technologies

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The world is currently undergoing a paradigm shift towards a circular society in which resources are recovered and reused rather than discarded. The global population has surpassed seven billion people, and rapid urbanisation in many areas is putting a significant strain on our ability to provide basic services to all. The Sustainable Development Goals highlight the fact that millions still lack access to food, healthcare, water and sanitation. At the same time, it is increasingly evident that we are consuming the Earth’s resources and releasing waste into the environment in an unsustainable manner. The resulting effects on climate change, biodiversity loss and changing nutrient cycles threaten to over-step critical planetary boundaries. Crossing these boundaries has the potential to cause irreversible environmental change and to threaten the ability of humanity to develop and thrive. Sanitation systems manage carbon, nutrient and water flows, which are key resource flows that affect the planetary boundaries and thus should be recovered and recirculated instead of being released into the environment. Increasing resource recovery within our sanitation systems can play a critical role in shifting to a more sustainable society.

There are significant resources within excreta and wastewater fractions that can be recovered and turned into useful products. For example, the average person excretes 4.5 kg of nitrogen, 0.5 kg of phosphorus and 1.2 kg of potassium every year. These elements and other micronutrients found in excreta are critical for the fertilising and restoration of agricultural soils. The energy value of faeces is on average 4 115 kcal/kg of dry solids. This energy can be utilised as a renewable energy source. On top of this, there are large volumes of wastewater that can be captured, cleaned and reused. However, human excreta and wastewater contain pathogens and other undesired substances, risks that need to be managed in a reuse system. The growing demand for recycling needs to be complemented with a growing knowledge of how to do it safely.

The aim of this document is to provide an overview of the possibilities for resource recovery from sanitation and provide guidance on treatment processes to achieve safe products for reuse. The focus of this document is on resource recovery from the organic wastes managed in sanitation systems and, to a lesser extent, on the recovery of water and energy generation. Resource recovery sanitation systems are defined as systems that safely recycle excreta and organic waste while minimising the use of non-renewable resources such as water and chemicals. Safe recycling means that waste flows are managed so that physical, microbial and chemical risks are minimised. Thus, the recycled product should not pose any significant health threat or environmental impact when correctly used.

The specific objectives of this document are:

  1. To expose the user to a broad range of recovered sanitation products and innovative treatment technologies.
  2. To help the user to design functional solutions for resource recovery by illustrating the linkages between sanitation inputs, treatment technology and the recoverable products.
  3. To provide an overview of basic information regarding design aspects, operational requirements and health, safety and social considerations related to resource recovery technologies and products.
  4. Describe and fairly present technology-specific advantages and disadvantages.

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Engineering, Art & Tech

Collaboration between UETCL-CEDAT: CEDAT hosts the collaboration strategy workshop

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The College of Engineering, Design, Art, and Technology (CEDAT) entered into a partnership with Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (UETCL) as one of the strategies to step up the Industry-Academia Partnership.

CEDAT hosted a 2-day UETCL-CEDAT collaboration strategy workshop from the 6th to the 7th of March 2024 as one of the initial steps in the actualization of the provisions of the memorandum of understanding signed some time back between the two institutions.

While making opening remarks at the event attended by participants from both CEDAT and UECTL, The Dean, School of Engineering, Assoc. Prof. Dorothy Okello noted that the strategy workshop was one of the first fruits of the journey that started with the signing of the MoU with UECTL.  We have used a different approach in how we action this MOU and it will be a more sustainable way, she said, while explaining that the workshop would clarify not only what was to be done in the short term or activity by activity basis but also how to carry this forward on a long term. Click here for more details

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Engineering, Art & Tech

The CEDAT Open Day Conference, Innovation Challenge and Exhibition, 2024

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The College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) held the 2024 Open Day drawing the participation of the students, the academia, and the Industry.

The three-day event ran from 28th February to March 1st, 2024 at the college under the Theme; Green Horizons: Cultivating Sustainable Futures through Green Skills for Green Jobs,” Showcasing projects focused on renewable energy production, energy efficiency, and sustainable transportation. Click here for more details

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Engineering, Art & Tech

TUM SEED Center International Summer School 2024

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A Poster of the TUM SEED Centre Makerere University Living Lab. College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Kampala Uganda, East Africa.

The TUM SEED Center for Sustainable Energies, Entrepreneurship, and Development at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is part of the long-term DAAD program “Exceed – Excellence Centers for Exchange and Development”, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development 2020-2024. The TUM SEED Center aims to contribute to sustainable development by offering higher education and conducting research at the intersection of sustainable energies and entrepreneurship in the Global South (https://www.seed.tum.de).

The TUM SEED Center announces up to five scholarships for the International Summer School 2024 “Empowering Tomorrow: Sustainable Energies and Entrepreneurship”, which will take place in Munich from 8 to 19 July 2024. (https://www.mgt.tum.de/programs/international-summer-school). The scholarship covers the program’s total costs, including the participant fee, housing, and mobility costs.

Eligibility criteria:

The candidate must be a master’s student or a young professional (having already achieved a bachelor’s degree) from one of the partner universities of the TUM SEED Center with a strong interest in sustainable energies and entrepreneurship. Makerere University is one of the partner universities, https://cedat.mak.ac.ug/TUMSEED/, and more information about TUM SEED Center @ Makerere may be found below.

How to apply:

In line with DAAD, the TUM SEED Center seeks to enhance gender equality. It highly encourages female candidates to apply for the announced scholarship. Please send your application, including your motivation letter, CV, and Transcript of Records in one PDF file, to Ms. Katharina Eichinger (email: katharina.ke.eichinger@tum.de) by 15 March 2024 (23:59).

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