Characterization of Faecal Sludge in the Oueme Delta

Abstract

The One of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to: "Ensure access for all to sustainably managed water supply and sanitation services". To meet this challenge, several countries such as Benin have decided to take action to solve sanitation problems. Thus, the general objective of this study is to characterize the sludge in the Oueme Delta in order to know its identity and propose an adequate treatment. The Oueme Delta has a population of about 4,346,336 inhabitants. Based on the methods used for quantification, it results that nearly 64.96% of the sludge produced is found in nature, only 8.63% in the station to undergo treatment and of the remaining 26.41% a part is drained manually or mechanically and ends up in nature and another part always remains in the pits and will never be emptied. In addition, the analysis of the sewage sludge taken from three municipalities of the Delta de l'Oueme reveals that this sludge has a slightly alkaline pH and is highly saline. They are fresh, rich in organic pollutants, nutrients and pathogens given the results of the temperature associated with pH. With an average COD of 37570.93 mgO2/L and an average BOD5 of 5500.66 mgO2/L, the sludge we analysed is poorly biodegradable. These results will be submitted to the stakeholders for assessment in order to reach consistent decisions for the sustainable management of this resource.