A self-contained, solar-powered latrine for developing nations
This contraption is a self-contained, solar-powered toilet and wastewater treatment system.
Gates Foundation
The flush toilet is hygienically convenient -- and needs lots of water. The job is that design only if you feature a running waste method and right to a becalm facility furnish. Those conditions often aren't met in the developing world.
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation latterly hosted the "Reinvent the Pot" clean, hunting for alternatives to the type richer nations are used to. Contestants had to develop systems that use a lot little water and more importantly, can work in areas where power and waste systems might not be a choice. For developing nations, toilets can be principal -- millions are suffering from water-borne diseases annually, specified as cholera, and diarrhea. These can kill you if it dehydrates enough. In many countries the pit latrine is the touchstone, and the problem is they often sip into localized water supplies.
A solar panel produces power to run an electrochemical reactor, so as to break down water and human waste into hydrogen gas. This system would process all of the waste a family can produce. It also sanitizes the water. Part of the process is disinfecting the waste, because it isn't the waste that causes disease -- it's the bacteria in it. The demonstration model (pictured) works with "squat" toilets, waterless urinals and more traditional-looking versions.
The hydrogen gas can be stored for use in fuel cells or burned to power the system when there is no sunlight, or even for cooking. The water used is recycled, so it can flush repeatedly. The whole thing doesn't depend on outside sources of power or water.
The next step is to find ways to sanitize the sludge and lower the cost of materials so this can be adapted to single households.
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