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We are Humanitarian Product Development: Team Biodigester! HPD Team Biodigester is a team of passionate, service-minded engineering students in the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. We are working together with the International Federation of the Red Cross to further develop a device that will aid in emergency sanitation for refugee camps! Our research and design will result in a product that will help lessen the burden of poor sanitation conditions for refugees around the world. We are so excited to put our technical skills to the test to make a difference!
Our focus is on Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, which is the largest refugee camp in the world, home to nearly 1,000,000 refugees. Many of these refugees are children and victims of targeted violence and oppression. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate sanitation, along with overcrowded conditions in Cox’s Bazar and other refugee camps pose serious health challenges.
Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
In emergency situations, displaced people are often forced to stay in places with little access to sanitation infrastructure. In these cases, a biodigester may be deployed as an alternative method of waste treatment.
A biodigester used to process waste in emergency situations.
We are working with partners at the Red Cross and SOWTech on an existing anaerobic biodigester. A biodigester is basically a giant rubber bag that creates an enclosed environment for bacteria to naturally break down waste. Our specific biodigester is very convenient because it is made out of a very strong and flexible rubber, making it easy to ship and deploy in emergency situations.
One major drawback of the existing system is that it is not temperature controlled. Temperature regulation is extremely important because these naturally occurring bacteria that process waste live in a specific temperature range, 86°F ‒ 104°F (30°C ‒ 40°C). This is where we come in! We will design, test, and implement a temperature regulation system for the biodigester, so that waste can be efficiently processed in any environment and weather conditions!
Every share, every contribution, every message empowers our team to further our product development and supports access to improved sanitation. We have pledged to raise $7500 to bring an improved waste processing system for use in refugee camps. Your donation would go directly into the costs of prototyping and testing our waste treatment system here at UT Austin. These costs include supplies, materials, and other fees involved with the development of our solar-powered biodigester, including the cost of renting a testing space. At the end of the school year, our final design will be handed off to the Red Cross to be deployed for communities in crisis. Every donation and every share brings us a step closer to engineering better sanitation for refugees in need, so please support us today!
Thank you so much for spending the time to learn about the Biodigester Project. We hope that you have come to share our passion for helping refugees in need. We believe in this cause and we are dedicated to using our technical skills to empower refugees through improved sanitation. We cannot accomplish any of this without your help, so please continue to donate and share our message for this cause! Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your support!
Sincerely,
Team Biodigester 2019-2020
Help us change the world through improved access to sanitation!
Follow us on our social media, or visit our website for more information!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hpdbiodigester/
Instagram: @hpdbiodigester
Website: sites.utexas.edu/biodigester
Everyday, roughly 37,000 people are forced to flee their homes due to conflict. With your gift of $37, you are a humanitarian activist.
Our biodigester facilitates a natural process called anaerobic digestion. This process reduces pathogen counts (the things that make people sick) in waste. This process is carried out by bacteria that live around body temperature, or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. With your gift of $98.60, you are supporting the use of science and research to help meet the basic needs of displaced and marginalized communities.
Poor sanitation poses a huge risk to the environment, along with public health. Through your donation, you are supporting the protection of the environments at risk from the lack of adequate waste processing, including the world’s longest natural beach, which is in Cox's Bazar and is 120 km long!
Only 3% of refugees globally enroll in college or university. Lack of adequate sanitation impedes students' ability to attend school. By supporting improved access to sanitation, you are supporting access to education and better futures for refugees around the world!
There are 70.8 million displaced persons worldwide, according to the UNHCR. Many of these people have to live in refugee camps that have no sanitation infrastructure. Your donation is supporting the development of a device that can be deployed to refugee camps to lower pathogen counts in waste and improve hygiene for the community!
There are an estimated 919,000 people living in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, currently the largest refugee camp in the world.
The UN Sustainable Development Goal for sanitation includes to end open defication and achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene by 2030. By supporting our project, you will help further develop resources that help meet this goal.
