Close the Ploop
At a glance
- Project leader : Marc Schmid
- Co-project leader : Jojo Linder
- Project team : Dr. Grégoire Meylan
- Project budget : CHF 15'000
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : Innosuisse (Innovationsscheck / 42875.1 INNO-SBM)
- Project partner : Kompotoi AG
- Contact person : Marc Schmid
Description
Kompotoi AG sells and rents toilets that separate with high efficiency solid and liquid human wastes (SHW, LHW). Currently Kompotoi pays to have its SHW recycled by a third company, up to 100t per year, and is considering to add this activity into its current business model. Kompotoi investigates various technical solutions to create value from SHW. However, before investing in new technical solutions, Kompotoi needs to determine the economic feasibility of such solutions for revenue creation and adapt its business model. The legal framework around commercial use of SHW needs clarification due to presence of micropollutants and contaminants. Harder (2019) lists processes to recover valuable stream from human wastes. The thermal decomposition processes are seen as delivering the broadest range of reusable process output materials like charcoal, inorganic multimineral ashes, aqueous phase solution rich in macronutrients (N, P, K, ), gas and thermal energy. The hydrothermal carbonization process recovers valuable streams and removes harmful substances like enteric bacteria, viruses, protozoa and worm eggs like Ascaris. Kompotoi focuses mainly on operative tasks linked to toilet rent and does not have resources to perform the analysis. With CIIS, Kompotoi gets resource to answer the business and engineering related questions for assessing ways of creating new revenue sources.