PrimeNumber Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 The Janicki Omniprocessor presented in the video above by Bill Gates, who's Gates foundation is one of the many groups funding the project, could be the answer to Clean drinking water and small amounts of renewable energy in third world countries. The Processor takes Human Waste and converts it into Clean Drinking Water, Energy to power the very process and even some to spare to go back into the grid and an ash byproduct.92.3 cubic meters of human sewage can be converted into 86,000 liters of clean drinking water as well as a maximum of 300 kW of energy per day from a single processor. With a ground foot print of 230 sq. meters.With enough funding, this could really be a game changer around the world.We heat the sewage until it boils, water exits the dryer as steam. At this temperature, pathogens cannot survive. While the water is in the vapor phase, it is filtered to remove particles. We then take this bio-safe steam and condense it to water before putting it through water treatment. The machine's water treatment adjusts the pH, and uses multiple filters to ensure safe, clear, great tasting water. The water is indistinguishable from bottled water. Quote “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find your way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”― Bruce Lee
overthere Posted January 24, 2015 Report Posted January 24, 2015 Looks interesting but I have a question or two. It runs on feces, large quantities are required to extract the water and feed the process. How do you get the fresh feces from open fields and trenches to the processor in large quantitities ? Remember that much of Africa and India have no infrastructure to manage this. How do you overcome widespread cultural revulsion from societies reluctant to drink their own waste? Quote Science too hard for you? Try religion!
PrimeNumber Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Posted January 24, 2015 Apparently the owners of the Processor would be paid to take waste from wherever it is piling up, then process it and return whatever electricity it generates that is not used in the process back to the grid, where they will again be paid for it. How this works I am not 100% sure, I imagine a partnership between the Local Governments and whomever owns the Processors would have to be in place.As to question number 2, the answer is simple. Drink the crap down by the river with all sorts of diseases or drink this. It's not meant for developed nations, it's meant for developing nations. I guess the beggars can't be choosers statement would apply. Quote “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find your way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”― Bruce Lee
eyeball Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 How do you overcome widespread cultural revulsion from societies reluctant to drink their own waste? Borrow a page from Soylent Green...just don't tell them where it came from. Quote A government without public oversight is like a nuclear plant without lead shielding.
Topaz Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 Couldn't one get the supply from septic tanks? Quote
Guest Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 Just think: If we stopped 1% of the population from having half of the money we'd never get good stuff like this! Quote
eyeball Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 Sure we would. If the other 99% had 90% of the money they'd be able to pay for this stuff themselves rather than having to rely on charity. Quote A government without public oversight is like a nuclear plant without lead shielding.
TimG Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) 92.3 cubic meters of human sewage can be converted into 86,000 liters of clean drinking water as well as a maximum of 300 kW of energy per day from a single processor. With a ground foot print of 230 sq. meters.So they pay to transport 10 metric tonnes of crap per day to a central location, filter it to produce water and sludge. The raw heat energy in 6 cu m of sludge is about 8MWh. Assuming pine is a suitable proxy and a 25% heat to electricity conversion factor we get about 80KW/h per day which sounds respectable but it does not include the power needed to run the equipment and the power to create filters and other components which are consumed by the process. I suspect the cost of the filters is prohibitive because if it was not they would be talking about using it in developed countries to replace the existing sewage treatment facilities. Edited January 25, 2015 by TimG Quote
overthere Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 Couldn't one get the supply from septic tanks? There aren't any. If there were, a vacuum truck runs $100k+. In India today over half the population- the part that needs the water and power most- defecate in the open, on the ground in open fields. I don't know the % for Africa but would estimate it is higher. Quote Science too hard for you? Try religion!
Guest Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) Sure we would. If the other 99% had 90% of the money they'd be able to pay for this stuff themselves rather than having to rely on charity. No they wouldn't. They'd just be able to afford shoes. Edited January 25, 2015 by bcsapper Quote
PrimeNumber Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Posted January 25, 2015 So they pay to transport 10 metric tonnes of crap per day to a central location, filter it to produce water and sludge. The raw heat energy in 6 cu m of sludge is about 8MWh. Assuming pine is a suitable proxy and a 25% heat to electricity conversion factor we get about 80KW/h per day which sounds respectable but it does not include the power needed to run the equipment and the power to create filters and other components which are consumed by the process. I suspect the cost of the filters is prohibitive because if it was not they would be talking about using it in developed countries to replace the existing sewage treatment facilities. Yeah I can't see it ever working in developing nations at this point, the systems we have in place will not be replaced any time soon. The systems we use in developed nations may not be available in some developing nations for many, many years as well so for countries without a sewage system in place this is the best answer. Many of those nations also suffer from a lack of clean drinking water so it's kinda like getting two birds stoned at once, so to speak. The hard part is that many of these nations do not collect waste water in sanitary sewers let alone treat that waste in treatment plants which means there is no sewage sludge to feed into the processors. This technology coupled with new research in toilets, pumps and treatment systems that are affordable for the poor, and appropriate for smaller towns that cannot afford the more complex systems in developed nations will lead to new and possibly better systems to be developed in these areas then the ones we currently have. In due time and with a bit of luck some cities and towns in developing nations may be using better systems then the ones we have in place. Quote “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find your way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”― Bruce Lee
eyeball Posted January 25, 2015 Report Posted January 25, 2015 No they wouldn't. They'd just be able to afford shoes. Making it all the easier to get up on their own two feet themselves. Quote A government without public oversight is like a nuclear plant without lead shielding.
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