In a new video on Bill Gates’s blog, the Gates Foundation co-founder sips water made from human waste using a machine called OmniProcessor, manufactured by Janicki Bioenergy in Sedro-Woolley, Washington, north of Seattle.
“I watched the piles of feces go up the conveyer belt and drop into a large bin. They made their way through the machine, getting boiled and treated. A few minutes later I took a long taste of the end result: a glass of delicious drinking water…
Through the ingenious use of a steam engine, it produces more than enough energy to burn the next batch of waste. In other words, it powers itself, with electricity to spare. The next-generation processor, more advanced than the one I saw, will handle waste from 100,000 people, producing up to 86,000 liters of potable water a day and a net 250 kw of electricity…
The processor wouldn’t just keep human waste out of the drinking water; it would turn waste into a commodity with real value in the marketplace.
The video is meant to raise awareness about ways to improve sanitation and access to clean drinking water worldwide. Some 2.5 billion people lack access to proper sanitation, and more than 1 billion people have to defecate outside or in public, contaminating drinking water supplies—a problem that can cause disease and death.
See the Most Insane Natural Disasters of 2014
Polar Vortex The U.S. side of Niagara Falls is pictured in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Jan. 8, 2014. The frigid air and "polar vortex" affected about 240 million people in the United States and southern Canada.Aaron Harris—ReutersCalifornia Drought A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir in San Jose, Calif. on Jan. 28, 2014.Justin Sullivan—Getty ImagesChina Smog Tourists walk on the promenade along the bank of the West Lake in heavy smog in Hangzhou city, east China Zhejiang province on Jan. 31, 2014.
Zhejiang Daily/Imaginechina/APWashington Mudslide A massive mudslide killed at least eight people and left dozens missing in Arlington, Wash., March 24, 2014.Ted S. Warren—APChile Earthquake A rescue worker inspects a car caught under a landslide after an 8.2 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit the northern port of Iquique, Chile on April 2, 2014.Cristian Vivero—ReutersArkansas Tornado Aerial view of the central town after a tornado hit Vilonia, Ark., April 28, 2014. Carlo Allegri—ReutersAfghanistan Mudslide An aerial view shows the site of a landslide that buried Abi Barik village in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, May 5, 2014. Hundreds of people were killed and 700 families displaced. Rahmat Gul—APSouthern California Wildfires A house is consumed by wildfire in San Marcos, Calif. on May 14, 2014. About 500 acres have burned in the San Marcos blaze, fueled by record heat, high winds and dry conditions. At least four other fires advanced in nearby communities. Bill Wechter—Getty ImagesBalkan Floods A Serbian army soldier rows a boat as he searches for people to be evacuated in the town of Obrenovac, southwest of Belgrade, Serba on May 16, 2014. The heaviest rains and floods in 120 years have hit Bosnia and Serbia.Marko Djurica—ReutersLightning Hits One World Trade Center Two bolts of lightning hit the antenna on top of One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, New York City on May 23, 2014. Gary Hershorn—CorbisYosemite Wildfire A long exposure image shows the El Portal Fire burning near Yosemite National Park, Calif. on July 27, 2014.Stuart PalleyIceland Volcano The Bardarbunga volcano spews lava and smoke in southeast Iceland on Sept. 14, 2014. Bernard Merci—AFP/Getty ImagesJapan Volcano Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel and other rescuers arrive to conduct search operations at the ash-covered Ontake Shrine near the summit of Mount Ontake in central Japan on Oct. 4, 2014. Kyodo News/APHawaii Lava Lava pushes through a fence marking a property boundary above the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii, Oct. 28, 2014. U.S. Geological Survey/APBuffalo Snow Storm Storm clouds and snow blow off Lake Erie in Buffalo, N.Y. on Nov. 18, 2014. An autumn blizzard dumped a year's worth of snow in three days on Western New York state, where five people died and residents, some stranded overnight in cars, braced for another pummeling expected later on Wednesday. REUTERS/Lindsay DeDario (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)Lindsay Dedario—ReutersPhilippines Typhoon Hagupit A Filipino typhoon victim collects water in front of a damaged home where Typhoon Hagupit hit, Samar Island, Philippines, on Dec. 8, 2014. Francis R. Malasig—EPA
