When water leaves a sewage treatment facility, it’s not too far from being drinkable. With that in mind, nations and entities have taken the next step in sewage treatment: turning human excrement into water. Bill Gates recently drank reclaimed sewage sludge water that came from a machine called the Omniprocessor, and he says he “would happily drink it every day.”
Unsanitary water?is a huge problem in many areas of developing nations, and water recycling techniques are extremely attractive for traditionally low precipitation and drought-stricken areas. Bill Gates understands the techniques are attractive for developing and developed countries alike. So machines that turn dung into drinkable water could fill a huge role. But is the Omniprocessor really all it seems to be?
What’s So Great About The?Omniprocessor?
Singapore has been turning sewage into potable water since it’s first NEWwater system was completed in 2000. This?”high-grade quality” water currently meets up to 30 percent of the nation’s water needs, and the goal is to raise that number to 55 percent by 2060 according to the Singapore water agency’s website.
Bill Gates thinks?that the Omniprocessor represents a leap forward in sewage reclaiming?technology. Perhaps it does, particularly when you consider it’s powered with steam that it generates itself. And the system doesn’t require expensive infrastructure additions. Gates says on his blog, gatesnotes, that the next-generation?version of the machine will treat the the waste of 100,000 individuals and produce 86,000 liters of potable water per day.
The World Health Organization?states?an individual requires 20 liters of water per day in order to “meet basic hygiene needs and basic food hygiene.” But, doing laundry and taking a bath might mean using more water. Using the 20 liters per day standard, one next-generation Omniprocessor could produce water for 4,300 individuals. Remember, that’s using the waste from 100,000 individuals. Will it be practical or better than current waste to water systems? We can at least hope that it will?help some of the people who need it the most.
A pilot Omniprocessor is slated to be activated in Senagal later this year. The Omniprocessor technology was developed by Janicki Bioenergy, and is still being perfected, with the help of funding from Bill Gates.?A?video on gatesnotes?points out that the owner of an Omniprocessor will get paid for the sewer sludge that goes into the machine and the electricity that comes out from the machine.
Watch the video from gatesnotes below.
