A fundamental right

By 2030, everyone should have access to clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation. This is the crux of the UN’s sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). It is especially important since access to clean water is a prerequisite for achieving other SDGs, according to Geeta Rao Gupta, Executive Director of UNICEF.

The SEMiLLA Sanitation Hub aims to help meet that goal. It is a closed wastewater treatment unit, using advanced space technology from the MELiSSA program (commissioned by ESA) to convert sanitary wastewater into clean water and nutrients for food production. In combination with container homes and controlled multilayer food-production units, we can quickly respond to global emergencies by providing the basic necessities for life.

The unit promotes good hygiene with toilet, washing, and showering facilities. The same unit uses biological treatment and filtration to clean and convert the three waste streams – urine, grey water and black water – into safe drinking water, nutrients, and (in the future) biogas.

The system is mobile, self-contained, and requires a very short start-up period. It ensures continuous proper hygiene and clean drinking water in less than a few hours.