Gates Foundation funds civil engineering professor's novel wastewater treatment fabric

A team at theUniversity of Delawarehas reinvented the common latrine by adding abreathable fabricas a simple way to protect the nearby groundwater and wells from contamination, while also protecting sanitation workers from exposure to pathogens.

The work was originally funded through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges Explorations Fund.

Now with $250,000 in additional funding from the nonprofit, the UD research team, led byenvironmental engineeringprofessor Steve Dentel, is piloting the membrane technology in Kanpur, India, one of the country's largest industrial cities. He is collaborating with representatives from WaterAid, a nonprofit organization.

WaterAid's research director, Puneet Srivastava, contacted Dentel after learning about his research team's innovative approach, which uses a breathable membrane in a fabric similar to that used in sports and camping gear.

"In first world countries, we use this type of fabric to keep from getting wet. But in the developing world it could be a key to basic health and sanitation," said Dentel, a recognized expert on waste processing.

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Taxonomy

• Wastewater Treatment
• Waste to Value