08/17/2012

Solar Toilet Disinfects Waste, Makes Hydrogen Fuel

The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge asked engineers to dream up a replacement for the antiquated flush toilet. Michael Hoffmann and his team at Caltech responded with a solar-powered toilet that disinfects waste and reuses wastewater to flush. Better yet, it pumps out hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells.

The video above is a presentation of the prototype of a Solar-Powered Self-contained Human Waste Water Treatment System developed by Professor Hoffmann’s research group at the California Institute of Technology with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.