Black Water Treatment via Hyper-Thermophilic Digestion in Sneek

This demonstration site in Sneek, Netherlands, treats black water from 32 homes using vacuum toilets and hyper-thermophilic anaerobic digestion (HTAD) to recover NPK fertilisers and biogas. Operated by DeSaH since 2005, the system uses a UASB reactor to achieve pathogen inactivation at 55–70°C. The upgraded system, part of the Run4Life project, features low-water-consumption vacuum toilets with microprocessor-controlled flushing, enhancing concentration and efficiency. HTAD enables single-step recovery of safe, usable liquid and solid fertilisers and energy, with technology developed by Wageningen University & Research. Funded by Horizon 2020 (grant 730285), the project supports sustainable nutrient and energy recovery.