Hello. Christian, thanks for your response, I would love to introduce myself a little more. I am a Masters student at the Technical University of Hamburg in Germany, and I designed the toilet as a part of my project work. When I evaluated the current approaches to excreta disposal in disaster relief and looked for opportunities for ecosan to be applied, I realized that there is a large need for a household, portable toilet that can be used at night safely and comfortably. The Terra Preta Sanitation concept which has been researched at my university (see the attachment below for more info). This technology, along with the portable design presented, allows for odor control and the product of a fertile soil additive. Other models have been developed using the concept, but I have not yet made a prototype for my design. I plan to make a prototype in the next few months and test in a community garden or at the university. I will keep you updated as I learn more. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have.

Dear Katie,
Thanks for sharing your design for portable toilets. I can see the many advantages of this design and terra preta concept but also the tricky points e.g. supply of bacteria, charchoal powder or risk of false operation of the toilet by the users. Do you have developed a proper prototype yet that you can share a pictures of? Any plans to implement your concept in a demonstration project yet?

It would be great if you could shortly introduce yourself to the forum.

Best regards,
Christian

As a part of a project investigating the "Application of Ecosan in Disaster Relief", I have designed a new, portable toilet which is be suitable for household use.

This portable toilet, named the Porta Preta, is able to control odors, provide hygienization and facilitate the reuse of the excreta. This is accomplished by separately collecting the urine from the feces. The feces then undergo a lactic acid fermentation process. Charcoal is also added to the feces to further control odor and form Terra Preta, a rich soil additive.

The target cost of the Porta Preta unit which can serve five people, is $25. The monthly cost of consumables for the toilet operation is targeted to be $0.80 per person. More information on the design can be found attached, or at the following link: www.susana.org/lang-en/library?view=ccbktypeitem&type=2&id=1507.

It would be great to gain feedback concerning the proposed design. Thanks!

Also, if anyone is interested, the full report on the "Application of Ecosan in Disaster Response" can be seen here: www.susana.org/lang-en/library?view=ccbktypeitem&type=2&id=1506