Researcher Thinks "Inside the Box" to Create Self-contained Wastewater System for Soldiers, Small Towns

Cheaper. Better. Faster. Most people will say you can't have all three. But don't tell that to Dr. Jianmin Wang, a professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Wang has created a wastewater system "in a box." Each system, built by re-purposing a shipping container, is low power, low maintenance and highly efficient. Built from weathering steel, these containers are designed to be tough and can be dropped on site by helicopters.

The system’s scorecard is so good that it could be deployed anywhere – from small, rural communities to forward operating bases, like those in Iraq or Afghanistan. Currently, the typical 600-soldier forward operating base requires a daily convoy of 22 trucks to supply the base with fuel or water and dispose of wastewater and solid waste. With few mechanical parts and a small footprint, the system is ideal for military use, Wang says.

“Currently, human wastes are typically burned in burn pits, and the wastewater is usually hauled away and dumped by local contractors,” Wang explains. “This results in high costs, security issues, potential health risks, negative environmental impacts to the hosting country and a potential negative image.

“Moreover, almost all fresh water used in the camp – including water for drinking, bathing, showering, laundry, car washing and toilet flushing ¬– is from outside sources in the form of bottled and surface water. A deployable and easy-to-use water reclamation station, which transforms wastewater into reusable water within the base, would improve the base environment, security, soldiers’ health, stewardship of foreign lands and concurrently reduce cost and fresh water demand from off-base sources.”

Current wastewater treatment options include membrane bioreactor, activated sludge, fixed film or on-site septic systems. Similar to these methods, Wang’s process uses microorganisms to break down the organic pollutants. Membrane bioreactor, activated sludge process and fixed-film process have been built using standard shipping containers, too. But that’s where the similarities end.

The membrane bioreactor process, while similar in size and quality of effluent produced, has extremely higher energy and maintenance costs, and up to 10 times more expensive parts.