SANITATION
Daniel Yeh in front of the NEWgenerator
The NEWgenerator is an off-grid sanitation system that will be rolled out to rural and informal communities in South Africa. Developed by the University of South Florida, the NEWgenerator is designed to turn sewage wastewater into (non-potable) water, energy and nutrients.
From human waste
to water
E
ngineering, procurement and construction contractor WEC Projects has been chosen by the Water Research Commission (WRC) under its South African Sanitation Technology Enterprise Programme as an industrial manufacturing partner to test a sanitation system called the NEWgenerator. “This is a particularly exciting system that we predict will help address a number of critical social challenges facing the country, including sanitation, access to water, energy independence and improved food production,” says Dr Gunter Rencken, technical director at WEC Projects. WEC Projects specialises in the design and provision of custom- or pre-engineered modular, packaged water and wastewater treatment plants and equipment across the continent.
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NOV /DE C 2021
Wayne Taljaard, managing director, WEC Projects
“Our manufacturing capability in Johannesburg, understanding of the conditions and market in Africa, as well as the technical skill set of our engineering and design team make WEC Projects the perfect fit for commercialising the NEWgenerator,” adds Wayne Taljaard, managing director of WEC Projects. NEWgenerator A compact, portable and modular sanitation system, the NEWgenerator can be installed in a standard shipping container, moved to site and brought online with minimal effort, easing logistical problems and ensuring a quick setup. It can be installed in areas without the infrastructure needed to support conventional wastewater treatment systems. The NEWgenerator does not require a full sewer network or power supply.
Dr Gunter Rencken, technical director, WEC Projects
The sanitation system has an anaerobic digester that uses microbes to break down human waste while producing biogas. Clean water is filtered out – with bacteria, viruses and any remaining solid particles removed – and then disinfected through a chlorination system. Most (99%) of the water can be recycled for reuse in the sanitation platform, reducing its reliance on the local water supply. The
