Bill Gates Gives $ 100,000 Prize to Greenhouse Inventors

Some people don't know, but Bill and Melinda Gates (the former Microsoft CEO and his wife) maintain one of the largest philanthropy institutions in the world. Among the foundation's main objectives is the fight against disease and misery in Africa. With a view to reducing the number of faecal contamination - which occurs on a large scale - Gates ran a contest that would reward greener toilet inventors - demanding less water and avoiding contamination.

The main objective of this action was to find ways to optimize the consumption of water used in the process (in poor regions of Africa and in other countries with lower development rate), while eliminating the chances of contamination by human waste. And several models presented by universities have shown good results, the main one being from Caltech (United States).

How does the Caltech toilet work?

The winning project uses the following system: solid materials are taken to the bottom of the structures and liquids are stored until a predefined level has been reached. When this happens, an electrochemical reactor uses solar energy and performs a reaction that oxidizes urine chloride and eliminates microorganisms.

The water treated by the system is reused in the same toilet, being thrown together with disinfectants at the next discharge. The solid part of the process is transformed into propane, which can even be used for cooking. For the revolutionary idea, Caltech scientists got a prize of $ 100, 000.

Source: Seattle Times and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation