RESEARCH AND DESIGN OF A CIRCULATION TOILET SYSTEM FOR SYOWA STATION IN ANTARCTICA

Abstract

The circulation toilet system, designed for the use at Syowa Station in the Antarctic, consists of faeces tank and urinate tank. The former is equipped with Japanese and European style lavatory pan, strainer, circulation pump, discharge valve, water level gauge and control panel and the latter with an urinate pan, water level gauge, exhaust pump and discharge hose. The faeces tank is acceptable to a 20-member household over a 15-day period. Sludge of the faeces tank is carried away by a vehicle and the sewage of the urinate tank is discharged by a pump. The urinate tank serves for the storage of the bath sewage. The equipment is installed in a room contiguous to a power plant, and by the use of its remaining heat, the sewage of the tank is prevented from freezing. The synthetic flushing liquid is put into the faeces tank, which is especially composed for the disinfection, disodorization, decoloration, cleaning pot and prevention from freezing. After use by operating pedals of the Japanese-style pan and by putting on the lid of the European-style one, the strainer and the pump are operated during a limited time by a time-switch and the urinal pan is cleaned. The equipment is packed in three sections to be carried by a helicopter, and the total weight is about 670 kg. Now we continue our studies on how to burn our sludge discharged from the urinal, and if it proved successful, human waste disposal problems in the Antarctic will be solved.