Crane Engineering's MSTS Status Update - February 2020

If it’s your first time reading our newsletter or visiting our web page, meet the Mobile Septage Treatment System (MSTS). The MSTS is a revolutionary way to increase the profitability of sanitation businesses. Fecal sludge from septic tanks/pits or holding tanks is supplied to the MSTS process at 3l/sec or 48gpm and 50-75% of the incoming volume is discharged as safe clean water that can be reused or discharged locally. The MSTS can mount on a truck and travel to the sources of septage, reducing the volume to transport to the treatment plant for processing. It can also be utilized as a stationary unit at a building complex or waste treatment plant. The mobile version is pictured below.

The MSTS has processed 1886 m³ (≈500,000 gallons) of septage in Wisconsin and Washington since its initial run in October of 2018. That equates to almost 190 African vacuum trucks or almost 500 Asian vacuum trucks. After a minor rebuild last winter, the MSTS processed septage during the summer at the Heart of the Valley Treatment plant in Kaukauna, Wisconsin before moving to Puyallup, Washington where it successfully processed high solids septage (≈5% solids) at the FloHawks facility.

Pictures of the septage feed and clean water effluent are found below for each testing campaign - note the darker septage in the right-hand picture from Puyallup, Washington. The darker color is due to higher solids. In Washington State, there are no laws requiring routine emptying of septic tanks like in Wisconsin. The FloHawks team was able to procure septage from tanks that have not been emptied in over 20 years which facilitated stress testing the MSTS from a solids loading standpoint.

The MSTS Gold water quality continues to meet expectations and is summarized below:

Based on discussions with a few business leaders, there is a demand for lower water quality and we have named it the MSTS White. The water quality for the MSTS White is slightly less than the MSTS Gold but visibly is close to the MSTS Gold – see below.

In January 2020 the foundation approved testing in Dakar, Senegal at a treatment plant located near the ocean. The MSTS will be shipped to Dakar this summer to begin processing in a stationary mode in early fall. Dakar septage contains significant amounts of sand relative to any septage tested to date so the MSTS is being rebuilt to handle the sand. The cleaning system is also being automated to facilitate safe and single-button cleaning for Dakar operators.

Along with testing in Dakar, the MSTS team is looking for commercial partners in the target areas of Africa, India, and China to expedite the proliferation of the MSTS in these areas. Business planning activities are in the works on how to get the MSTS to market quickly and inexpensively. Both stationary and mobile applications of the technology are being explored for market entry.

SenEngineering from Dakar represented Crane Engineering at the 1st Pan African Pit Emptiers Association meeting in Abidjan and presented the capabilities of the MSTS to the conference participants. These participants could be potential operators or buyers of the MSTS.

While in Dakar, we will invite potential commercial partners to view the MSTS while processing septage to encourage any partners to quickly bring the MSTS to market.

Mark and the Crane Engineering MSTS Team