Use of chitosan and Moringa oleifera as conditioners for improved dewatering of faecal sludge

A pilot-scale dewatering research facility was built in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and was used to test chitosan and Moringa oleifera as conditioners to improve the dewatering of faecal sludge. Laboratory-scale jar tests were first conducted to determine optimal dosages for the conditioners in faecal sludge samples with varying total solids concentrations. The results for chitosan were 0.5-0.6 mL/gTS, and for Moringa oleifera 5-15mL/gTS. Based on these results, pilot-scale tests were conducted with chitosan, but the use of Moringa was ruled out as it was too resource intensive. Three loading cycles were conducted, and an average of 15.3% reduction in dewatering time was achieved. Based on the laboratory and pilot-scale tests, chitosan is recommended as a conditioner for improved FS dewatering performance. It could be employed at full-scale, but still requires jar tests to determine optimal dosing.