Design and fabrication of a safe emptying and loading system

Abstract

In the heavily populated urban slums of Sub-Saharan Africa, feacal sludge (FS), a by-product of on-site sanitation systems, presents a management difficulty. Pit latrines are the most prevalent and economical onsite sanitation facilities in the Bwaise III zone of downtown Kampala City's informal settlements. However, when latrines fill up, problems arise from a lack of efficient technological choices. This later poses a lot of challenges including those associated with the disposal. Currently, vacuum tankers have an impact on the market, but they are primarily used to empty septic tanks in locations that are easily accessible rather than inaccessible locations where pit latrines and filled manholes are common. Due to accessibility issues, heavy traffic, and vast distances to treatment facilities, the collection and transportation of FS from slums is expensive. In response to the above challenges, a safe emptying and loading system was designed and constructed. The system is cheap, affordable and environmentally friendly. The system is made up of a suction rotary vane compression system and forklift which is a loading device. A suction rotary vane compression system is made up of a metallic drum, the rotary compressor coupled to the engine using a pulley and connected with pipe fittings. The forklift was fabricated from mild steel which is readily available, cheap and can be made from locally available materials and scrap materials. This comprises of mainly hand-winch, the fork and a frame. The prototype was tested at Busitema university workshop and the test results were tabulated, graphs of discharge vs suction time, suction time vs elevation, elevation vs discharge, load vs time were plotted. An economic analysis was carried out and it shows that the project is viable. Therefore, based on the limitations of the current design, further modifications and recommendations are advised.