Acumen Engineering/Analysis, Inc. - Earth-Friendly Sanitation

Earth-Friendly Sanitation

And now, for something completely different…

Gotta go? No water? No problem.

acumen supplies a novel waterless toilet technology that has been used in remote applications including oil rigs, railroad cars, Army work boats and highway restroom facilities. The system is particularly suited for applications in which either fresh water supplies or waste disposal facilities (or both) are not available or expensive.

The basic concept of the system is illustrated below. It uses mineral oil, rather than water, to transport waste products to a settling tank in which the solids and water-based components settle to the bottom. The oil, which is less dense than water, is drawn off the top. The oil is then filtered, sanitized, and returned to an oil reservoir for reuse. The waste products are removed from the bottom of the settling tank and transported to a secondary digester where organic compounds are fully digested and all water is evaporated.

Key Benefits

No water is required for normal operation - This reduces to the absolute minimum the supply requirements for the system and the demand for waste disposal infrastructure.
Conventional appearance and use - The toilet appears like, and is used like, a conventional toilet. Most users of the system at a national park, when surveyed, were unaware that the toilet they had just used did not use water.
Zero discharge - The secondary digester completes the digestion of organic compounds and evaporates the water, leaving an insignificant residue of inorganic mineral salts.

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Last Updated: March 6, 2006