Self-Contained, PV-Powered Domestic Toilet and Wastewater Treatment System

Video presentation of the prototype of a Solar-Powered Self-contained Human Waste Water Treatment System developed by Prof. Hoffmann's research group at the California Institute of Technology with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Attributions:
Video Production by Caltech Academic Media Technologies
Royalty free music licensed by www.stockmusic.net
© 2012 California Institute of Technology

[@shanmukh68]

Clean technology.......congratulations on winning.......hope the inventors and the foundation makes this technology open source .

[@JojoLibra]

This is the first prototype of this machine and hopefully in the future, together with the advance in technology, the designers can simplify the system to make it smaller and easier to use. I also think about the first versions of PC, which were bigger and uglier than the later versions. But people have improved PC so that we have what we use today. I myself don't expect the inception of anything to be the perfect one. And I do appreciate them to have useful ideas to deal with existing problems.

[@darkspd31]

Unless it costs less then $100 and reduce the complexity severely, it well not help anybody. This was basically just a fun little project for caltech to show off with...won't change a thing,

[@ajerojason]

I don't know about poor people. But this has real applications to modern nations almost immediately. Many homes in rich nations are stuck on septic tank systems and replacing them can cost 10's of thousands of dollars. This maybe a viable alternative to that. Also dubai comes to mind. They currently truck their human waste out on trucks. Units like these would be much more efficient.

[@cphairottam]

at least Caltech along with other universities have tried and started something that can be developed further to achieve a better and cheaper version, rather than someone here being negative and doesn't help with anything. Also, the Gates foundation proposed this, not Caltech wanted to show off. Meh, people are jealous.

[@davemartin6170]

This toilet combines advanced electronics with a rotating solar panel. There are also various chemical processes. Dozens of moving parts. A wide range of materials used. This is a complex machine. Now imagine 10 millions of these is slums around Mumbai and Delhi. With people doing all sorts of crazy stuff: water getting into the electronics, dangerous chemicals being poured into the toilet. People connecting other electric devices to the (very valuable) solar panel. Rodents chewing the wires...

[@davemartin6170]

An added problem with this toilet is its technical complexity. There are so many things that could go wrong. And where would poor people in slums get spare parts or expertise to solve these problems? This is an impressive technical achievement, but there is absolutely no chance that this will solve sanitation problems in the developing world. It will only ever be used for demonstration purposes in a few places. I really cannot understand how this technology won this competition.

[@mpascal]

They would repurpose the solar panels and batteries to powering TVs and charging cell phones and go back to shovels for their sanitary needs.

[@allamuket]

Congratulation Caltech. I wonder if this would be useful in arid parts of the developed world - for example in Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico where water is scarce. Such a system could cut water use significantly since one could use waste water to water lawns and backyard plants. If one could treat water from the kitchen sink and clothes washer, then the water bill could be cut significantly and such a system would pay for itself in a few years.

[@davemartin6170]

I really don't understand how this toilet could have won that competition. The requirement is that it cost less than 5c per day to run. But the installation cost of this toilet must be over $10,000 which means that the repayment cost of the loan required to buy this toilet would be more than $3 per day - thus it is totally not economically viable for the developing world. In India there are 150 million households without sanitation. It would cost India $1.5 trillion to install these toilets.

[@valarieknight7990]

Engineers! Thanks for taking a very simple process and over complicating it. Just make a hot box, speed up the composting and you have ash. It's not rocket science. It may take six hours instead of four, but then it won't cost thousands of dollars, either.

[@jhkantor]

An amazing invention!

[@yqnyq]

Hi, the disinfection effect for this prototype is based on the electrochemical breakdown of salt and water into hypochloric, chloric or perchloric acid anions. While the disinfection effect is undoubtedly thorough, I don't see how the poisonous effect of the byproduct chlorine gas and even more so the formation of a wide variety of chlorinated organic compounds can be avoided. What about the salts of chloric, hypochlorous and perchloric acid that are produced in the design?

[@cphairottam]

at least Caltech along with other universities have tried and started something that can be developed further to achieve a better cheaper version, rather than being negative and doesn't help with anything. Also, the Gates foundation proposed this, not Caltech wanted to show off.

[@DarianHickman]

Yeah I would have expected something far simpler.

[@kitsunechan7684]

I doubt even an improved, mass produced version will be deployable in a widespread manner (at least in densely populated areas), but theres definitely potential for this technology to be used in microhomes and in more developed areas where independence from municipal treatment facilities could be economically advantageous.

[@user-lv1wn5wq7n]

Thanks for your interest in india.A journey starts with the first step.

[@Kikuyumoja]

I understand that this is just a prototype, but it would have been great to hear more about test with fresh faeces and tissues as opposed to the primary sludge coming from the LA waste water treatment station.

[@BenManoochehri]

I agree with you, but maybe maintaining these machines could be part of a new industry in developing countries.

[@Falcons1878]

Cool, but what about the three seashells?

[@molenade]

Where is that map from? 0:41 So inaccurate. It marks Poland, Latvia and Lithuania among others wrongly as developing countries :/

[@user-lv1wn5wq7n]

From India.We could start with normal homes.Once Indians master the technology-in 3 years say- their usage would rise exponentially

[@egesiege1979]

Won't work in Poland (developing country with sanitary problems according to caltech) - simply not enough light during six months long polar night. Besides, I'm emotionally attached to my hole-in-the-ground privy. wth caltech?!

[@corduroy99]

If this won, I can just imagine the runner ups. :-(

[@nourajaber6933]

The effluent water can be used for irrigation..but Is it safe for any kind of plants, even edible ones? does it matter whether subsurface or surface watering techniques are used?

[@switch2blue]

Would really like use this for the needy community in Philippines...any chance to bring this forward?

[@davemartin6170]

cphairottam, the whole point of the Gates competition was to find a way to build cheap, effective toilets for the over 1 billion very poor people who currently practise open defecation. The public health effects of no sanitation are huge: in my village over half the households have lost at least one child to diarrhea and 10% have lost 3 or more children. All of us were hoping this competition would lead to useful innovation, but this winner will solve nothing. Even if refined, it is too complex.

[@johnknight9150]

Bonjour Michael, I would like to buy or recreate such a system instead of using a composting toilet. Is this now commercially available? If not, is the design open source or patented? I was wondering if we could re-create it using off-the-shelf parts.

[@CeltadzManicure]

Do you have any plans to commercialize this system? I think it would be a big hit.

[@FernandoPezoFonseca]

There's no money to buy this in poor countries

[@bigollameo]

No kidding!

[@nittyjee]

what's with that map??? It's waaay off. First of all, those are not all the "developing countries" - it should show nearly the whole Global South - nearly all of Africa, Latin America and Asia... second, "developing countries" does not = lack of sanitation. It's hard for me to believe, for example, that a significant part of the Russian population has a lack of access to sanitation. The map should show lack of access to sanitation.

[@hilarylewis4011]

Is it prone to the "blue screen of death" syndrome?

[@davemartin6170]

Xeller4tor: can you give us a rough breakdown of that $1000?

[@MrTimjd123]

How about re-usable TP?

[@egesiege1979]

Sorry Dave but check out the map. India is not on the list!

[@Kikuyumoja]

Also, the map of developing countries is wrong.

[@user-lv1wn5wq7n]

Technical complexity:I am from India. Indians can learn but not invent