Pamplona Urine Filtration

Upcycling urine to usable water for residents in Pamplona Alta

Fall 2023

Pamplona Urine Filtration is a research project conducted in the Product Design & Development course in Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The project focuses on developing a sanitized method to dispose and reuse urine in Pamplona Alta, an area in Lima, Peru without access to sewage and sanitized water. Under the help from Sanima, a human waste management program in Pamplona, the team (Hanzhang Cao, Zeina Barghouti, Armando Neto, Raul Briceno Brignole, Dalal Alram) designed a urine filter. This filter is connected to the urine diverting toilet provided by Sanima, recycling urine into sanitized grey water. Users cannot drink the recycled water, but it is safe for daily usage such as cleaning, laundry, or watering plants.

Pamplona Alta

A shantytown without sewage system

Water are delivered to residents in Pamplona Alta by water trucks. However, this service is extremely expensive and the water is unsanitized.

Most of the households in Pamplona use pit latrine and community septic tank for human waste management. Once a septic tank gets filled up, residents will seal it.

Disposal of urine has always been a challenge for Sanima.

Thus, we aspire to work with them to develop a urine filtration device.

Located on the outskirts of Lima, Pamplona Alta is a neighborhood known for its poverty and lack of infrastructural development. This elevated area is filled with sheds where families habitat. Steep dirt roads are the only way up. Due to its complex landscape, Pamplona doesn't have access to sewage systems.

Some households enroll in Sanima Human Waste Management, a program that collects and disposes human waste. Users are provided with waterless toilets that separate urine and solid wastes. Solid wastes are collected by the program, while urine are deposed directly to the ground.

Our Mission

Sanima human waste management program

Sanima Human Waste Management provides users with waterless toilets that divert urine from solid wastes. Solid human wastes are collected in a biodegradable plastic bag inside the toilet, while urine is drained to the ground. Sanima comes to each household to collect solid human waste every week.

Pamplona Urine Filtration

We aspire to design a urine filter to integrate on Sanima’s human waste management program to empower Pamplona Alta residents with cost-effective and safe access to sanitation and water.

Urine Filteration Container

Hose

Filter

Lid

Chlorine Slot

Tank

The 6 Liter capacity of the urine filtration container is designed based on the need of a household of 3-4 people. Based on the lifestyle of Pamplona residents, who spend the majority of their day working outside from home, each household is expected to empty the filtered water twice a week. The layout of the device prevents user from touching the urine when replacing the filter.

The dimension of the urine filtration container is also designed based on the height of the urine-diverting toilet provided by Sanima.

Sampling

Activated Carbon

Filter out impurities

The Filter

Cap

Aluminum Mesh

Activated Carbon

Housing

Test for Odor & Clarity

Clay Ball

Increase water flow inside the filter

Test for Bacteria

After four trials of testing the samples from our sanitation attempts, we discovered the most effective method to produce bacteria-free grey water is by using activated carbon to filter out impurities such as urea and using chlorine to eliminate bacteria growth. The final result of our sanitation method is safe for daily usage such as laundry, cleaning, or watering plants, which meets our initial goal of recycling and reusing urine as a water source aside from drinking.