In some regions of the world, flushing toilets and faeces treatment pose significant health concerns. In this context, Samsung said that it has developed, in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, toilets capable of recycling feces and neutralizing their pathogens.
The Samsung Institute of Advanced Technology (SAIT), the company’s research and development arm that began work on the project in 2019, recently completed technology development. A prototype intended for home use has been successfully manufactured and tested, reports a statement issued on Thursday, August 25, by the electronics giant.
Stop the spread of pathogens
This innovation is part of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge. The initiative, launched in 2011 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is based on the observation that many developing countries lack viable responses to treat faeces. Effluent discharged to the site without treatment contaminates groundwater and waterways used for drinking water, promoting the spread of deadly pathogens.
Therefore, this contest aims to support the development and commercialization of solutions capable of removing the most dangerous pathogens from human waste to extract clean water, nutrients for agriculture and energy. These systems must meet certain objectives: to be economically economical, totally autonomous, that is, not to be connected to water intakes and the sewage network, and to consume a minimum of electrical energy.
Toilets developed by Samsung meet these requirements. Its thermal and biological treatment technology eliminates the pathogens present in the faeces and the water they use is 100% recycled. They also have the ability to dehydrate and dry solid waste before reducing it to ashes.
Access to toilets: a global problem
Samsung plans to offer free licenses to developing countries so that they can exploit the patents related to this technology. The South Korean company has also assured that it will continue to work closely with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to produce these toilets on a large scale. The two organizations will also work together to identify industry partners willing to democratize and commercialize this technology.
Around 3.6 billion people are forced to use unsafe sanitation facilities, estimates the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. And the consequences in terms of infant mortality are enormous: each year, this situation “causes the death of half a million children under 5 years of age from diarrheal diseases caused by limited access to drinking water and hygiene,” the press release concludes. from Samsung.
Source: BFM TV
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