<p>A US University has developed a revolutionary solar-powered waterless toilet to help some of the 2.5 billion people lacking safe and sustainable sanitation around the world including in India where it will be unveiled this month.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Designed and built using a USD 777,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the waterless toilet with its innovative technology converts human waste to biochar, a highly porous charcoal.<br /><br />It aims to provide an eco-friendly solution to help some of the 2.5 billion people around the world lacking safe and sustainable sanitation.<br /><br />The toilet has the capability of heating human waste to a high enough temperature to sterilise it and create biochar, a highly porous charcoal, said Karl Linden, project principal investigator and professor, University of Colorado.<br /><br />The biochar has a one-two punch in that it can be used to both increase crop yields and sequester carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.<br /><br />The project is part of the Gates Foundation's "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge," an effort to develop a next-generation toilet that can be used to disinfect liquid and solid waste while generating useful end products, both in developing and developed nations, said Linden.<br /><br />Since the 2012 grant, Linden and his CU-Boulder team have received an additional USD 1 million from the Gates Foundation for the project, which includes a team of more than a dozen faculty, research professionals and students, many working full time on the effort.<br /><br />Linden's team is one of 16 around the world funded by the Gates "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge" since 2011.<br /><br />All have shipped their inventions to Delhi, where they will be on display on March 20-22 for scientists, engineers and dignitaries.<br /><br />"Biochar is a valuable material," said Linden.<br /><br />"It has good water holding capacity and it can be used in agricultural areas to hold in nutrients and bring more stability to the soils," he said.<br /><br />"A soil mixture containing 10 per cent biochar can hold up to 50 per cent more water and increase the availability of plant nutrients," he said.<br /><br />Additionally, the biochar can be burned as charcoal and provides energy comparable to that of commercial charcoal. While the current toilet has been created to serve four to six people a day, a larger facility that could serve several households simultaneously is under design with the target of meeting a cost level of five cents a day per user set by the Gates Foundation.<br /><br />"We are continuously looking for ways to improve efficiency and lower costs," he said.</p>
<p>A US University has developed a revolutionary solar-powered waterless toilet to help some of the 2.5 billion people lacking safe and sustainable sanitation around the world including in India where it will be unveiled this month.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Designed and built using a USD 777,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the waterless toilet with its innovative technology converts human waste to biochar, a highly porous charcoal.<br /><br />It aims to provide an eco-friendly solution to help some of the 2.5 billion people around the world lacking safe and sustainable sanitation.<br /><br />The toilet has the capability of heating human waste to a high enough temperature to sterilise it and create biochar, a highly porous charcoal, said Karl Linden, project principal investigator and professor, University of Colorado.<br /><br />The biochar has a one-two punch in that it can be used to both increase crop yields and sequester carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.<br /><br />The project is part of the Gates Foundation's "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge," an effort to develop a next-generation toilet that can be used to disinfect liquid and solid waste while generating useful end products, both in developing and developed nations, said Linden.<br /><br />Since the 2012 grant, Linden and his CU-Boulder team have received an additional USD 1 million from the Gates Foundation for the project, which includes a team of more than a dozen faculty, research professionals and students, many working full time on the effort.<br /><br />Linden's team is one of 16 around the world funded by the Gates "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge" since 2011.<br /><br />All have shipped their inventions to Delhi, where they will be on display on March 20-22 for scientists, engineers and dignitaries.<br /><br />"Biochar is a valuable material," said Linden.<br /><br />"It has good water holding capacity and it can be used in agricultural areas to hold in nutrients and bring more stability to the soils," he said.<br /><br />"A soil mixture containing 10 per cent biochar can hold up to 50 per cent more water and increase the availability of plant nutrients," he said.<br /><br />Additionally, the biochar can be burned as charcoal and provides energy comparable to that of commercial charcoal. While the current toilet has been created to serve four to six people a day, a larger facility that could serve several households simultaneously is under design with the target of meeting a cost level of five cents a day per user set by the Gates Foundation.<br /><br />"We are continuously looking for ways to improve efficiency and lower costs," he said.</p>