The idea of turning waste into energy, heat, and/or fuel isn't exactly new, but its application on a household scale still needs development. How does getting energy from all those sessions of universal meditation on the toilet sound? A group of researchers at the Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology presented a toilet prototype that transfers human waste to a reactor, where biogas and carbon dioxide are generated. Additionally, the current system uses tokens to reward you for your "effort" on the institute's campus.
When something goes wrong and you're forced to restart the eternal battle against the forces of evil while sitting on the toilet, the last thing that should cross your mind is the possibility of turning all that chaos you just expelled into energy. However, it's a perfectly valid source as long as it's processed correctly. When visualizing this process, it's almost inevitable to think of large, complex facilities, leaving aside any small-scale operation. Luckily, there are very prepared people working on this challenge, and maybe within a few years, the home transformation of waste into energy will become a reality.
How Does It Work?
What you just saw is the ecological toilet prototype developed by a group of researchers at the Ulsan Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea. Basically, once you finish your flush, the toilet uses about 500 milliliters of water to transfer the contents through a suction mechanism to a reactor where digestion takes place. This in turn generates biogas, which could eventually power the heating system, and carbon dioxide, which facilitates the growth of green algae rich in lipids, intended for biodiesel production. If you're only interested in energy production, then the story ends here... but there's more.
https://old.neoteo.com/bill-gates-y-el-inodoro-del-futuro/The researchers began installing these toilets across the campus, and with each satisfactory flush, users will receive a series of digital tokens via a mobile app and QR code. The tokens can be exchanged for different services and foods at campus stores. In other words, if a South Korean student doesn't manage to pay for breakfast with plastic or cash, maybe all they need is to take a good dump—(beep!)—before heading to the cafeteria. Personally, I approve of the idea of recovering energy from human waste, but I think in these regions they'll try to exploit the system somehow. If the toilet relies on the user's good faith to identify urine and feces, it won't be that easy...
Source: NBC12 (via CNN)
https://old.neoteo.com/mix-un-inodoro-que-convierte-desperdicio-en-energia/
