Doctorante
Université Paris Cité
École Doctorale 624 – Sciences des sociétés
Année d’inscription : 2025
Année de soutenance prévue : 2029
Supervisor : Prof. Nathalie Berta
Supervisor Prof. Jules Van Lier (Technical University of Delft(Netherlands)
Co-supervisor of the thesis: Dr Mariska Ronteltap (Technical University of Delft(Netherlands)
Climate Resilient Sanitation Systems
Methane Mitigation with Immediate Health Co-Benefits
Community Led Circular Economy Solutions
Women Centered Sanitation and Green Energy Transitions
High Impact, Low-Cost Biogas Innovation
Decentralized Sanitation for Informal Settlements and Refugee Contexts
Carbon Finance Enabled Sanitation Models
Scalable Co-Digestion Technologies for the Urban Poor
Science Policy Practice Integration for Climate Justice
Transforming Waste into Public Health and Climate Assets
This research is based on multi‑sited fieldwork in East Africa examining sanitation‑linked biogas systems across diverse socio‑technical contexts. Primary sites include Nairobi’s informal settlements (Kibera, Mukuru, and Mathare), where Umande Trust operates public bio‑centres treating pit latrine sludge, and Kisumu (Dunga Beach, Kenya). Additional fieldwork was conducted in Wondo Genet and Mojo (Ethiopia), as well as in Khartoum and North Darfur, focusing on biogas and sanitation interventions in low‑income and displacement‑affected settings.
The analysis will be complemented by insights from French micro‑methanation, used as a comparative reference for substrate diversification, technological pathways, and regulatory constraints in decentralized anaerobic digestion. The PhD adopts a practice‑oriented approach, combining laboratory work, pilot implementation, and stakeholder engagement in Europe and East Africa, with emphasis on France, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Sudan. The ongoing Biogas Knowledge Transfer and piloting initiative in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement will be expanded and aligned with the research objectives.
Approaches to Sanitation: Sustainable Biogas Systems for Low-Income High-Density Settlements in East Africa
This doctoral research develops a scalable, community-led anaerobic co-digestion model for low-income, high-density settlements and refugee contexts in East Africa, where conventional biogas systems remain structurally underperforming. Despite extensive deployment, low‑rate digesters with high capital costs and limited methane recovery. The study addresses a socio-technical paradox in which women and children bear disproportionate energy and sanitation burdens while being excluded from governance and technical decision-making. Through examples in Kibera, Mukuru, Dunga Beach, and Kiryandongo, the research evaluates whether biogas systems reproduce vulnerability or enhance agency when paired with cooperative, women‑led models. Technically, it introduces compact, modular co-digestion systems using high-rate reactors to reduce digester volumes by factors of 20-60, thereby increasing cost efficiency and greenhouse-gas mitigation. Drawing on French micro-methanation experience, limited by manure‑centric regulation, which constrains substrate diversification and the uptake of high‑rate and multi‑stage technologies. The research highlights how substrate diversification beyond livestock manure, towards agro-industrial residues, and sanitation streams, has driven technological innovation: including advanced process control, ammonia management, and multi-stage configurations. Overall, the study integrates technical, social, and financial pathways for inclusive, climate‑resilient sanitation and biogas transitions.
