The Working Principle of Bill Gates' Super Toilet Chemical engineer Catherine (right) who aids Africa is giving a briefing to Bill Gates (left). The flush toilet was once the greatest invention in human history, but so far 2.6 billion people around the world are still unable to enjoy this achievement. In order to solve this problem, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has spent $24 million, hoping that scientific researchers can develop a cheap and efficient super toilet. This kind of toilet must be able to function normally without tap water network, sewage system and electricity, and the daily maintenance cost cannot exceed five cents. Now there are preliminary results for this seemingly impossible task. Moreover, while solving the toileting problems for people in underdeveloped areas, the design schemes by researchers from various countries also bring three valuable resources to users: water, fertilizer and energy. There are approximately 2.6 billion people around the world who are not able to use hygienic toilets. In some developing countries, lack of sanitary facilities has caused numerous infectious diseases such as cholera and dysentery. To solve this problem, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation last year provided each of eight university research institutions with $3 million to let them develop a super toilet. This kind of toilet must be able to function normally without tap water network, sewage system and electricity, and the daily maintenance cost cannot exceed five cents. These eight universities are located in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia respectively: California Institute of Technology, Stanford University in the United States, University of Toronto in Canada, Loughborough University in the UK, Delft University of Technology in Holland, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), National University of Singapore, and University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. After receiving funding from the foundation, scientists are using various methods including evaporation, combustion, pyrolysis and anaerobic fermentation decomposition, trying to decompose toilet waste into three basic resources: water, fertilizer and energy. Just like sorting paper and plastic will improve recycling efficiency, separating urine from fecal water will make the process of converting toilet waste into energy, fertilizer and sterile water more efficient. In Europe, people have started using separate toilets for excrement and urine. Now, scientists have designed a waterless toilet for areas without tap water. People can use hand-operated air pumps to use compressed air to discharge the waste. Recently, this project has made new progress: Professor Michael Hoffman from the Department of Environmental Science at California Institute of Technology has developed a prototype of a solar toilet. This toilet uses solar panels to provide energy for its electrochemical system. Electrodes produce chemical reactions, clean the toilet bowl and convert organic waste into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are then stored in solid oxide fuel stacks for power generation. "We can clean wastewater to be as clean as that coming out of treatment plants," Hoffman said, but he also admitted that the prototype of the solar toilet was not cheap, costing up to $5000. However, he believed that once it went into mass production, the cost would come down. The plan by the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa is to chemically treat the waste, burn the feces, and use the energy it brings to evaporate the urine. The plan by the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EA W A G) is to separate the urine and feces into different containers, filter the urine and store the obtained water in another container to flush the toilet, thus achieving circulation. The toilet does not need to be connected to the tap water network. The remaining toilet waste can be reused as fertilizer. The plan by Delft University of Technology in Holland is to use microwave to convert human feces into carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, which are then stored in solid oxide fuel stacks for power generation. The research teams from Loughborough University in the UK and Stanford University in the United States independently developed technologies to convert feces into charcoal or biochar. The University of Toronto in Canada has developed a system that uses smoldering technology to treat feces. This system purifies the urine through membrane filtration and ultraviolet radiation. In the near future, perhaps a super toilet combining many advantages will appear, thereby benefiting the whole world. Compiled by Lin Zhengdao Share to: Related reports: Bill Gates will invest huge funds to create cheap toilets for poor countries Bill Gates will invest $42 million to invent a new type of toilet Bill-Gates will invest huge funds to invent a new type of toilet (Picture) Sina Weibo recommendation | Sina Technology's official Sina Weibo