Research and Outreach
Overview
IRES participants will collaborate with UCC faculty and students as well as teachers and pupils at a local secondary school to conduct research on technological and social aspects of water supply and sanitation systems. The specific research activities will include: water supply projects that will focus on biosand filters for drinking water treatment; sanitation projects that will focus on low cost, low energy ecological sanitation systems such as biodigesters; Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) as a means to shape research from design of experiments, conducting research and dissemination to promote active community engagement. Further description of the research projects is given below.
- Water Supply Projects: This involves the development of biosand filters for removal of turbidity, pathogens
and other contaminants. In this project, IRES participants develop field appropriate
methods of BSF performance, design and construct BSF prototypes and test them in partnership
with secondary school teachers and pupils. It is possible that a school scale BSF
can be constructed to treat harvested rainwater that can be used for different purposes.
- Sanitation Technology and Education: IRES participants will collaborate with local high school students and teachers to study biodigesters that recover valuable resources (water, nutrients, energy) from food and livestock wastes. Students will carry out small-scale anaerobic digestion experiments under varying conditions (e.g., co-digestion of different waste materials) and monitor biomethane production and biodigester chemistry. Data from these experiments will be used to design full-scale biodigesters for use in the schools. Students will also evaluate existing sanitation infrastructure, waste production and waste characteristics at a local secondary school.