No-Mix Vacuum Toilet relies on poo power

The next time you decide to lay a string of logs after a particular fiber-intensive meal, you might want to do your bit for the environment too with the No-Mix Vacuum Toilet. This particular toilet system was developed by a team of scientists and research assistants from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, where it will basically transform poo into electrical power – not to mention help you save 90% of the water that normally ends up flushed down in a standard issue toilet, too. According to associate professor Wang Jin-Yuan, “Waste is not waste, but a misplaced resource. With this new toilet system, 90 percent of water can be saved, so can you imagine how much water we waste every other day?”

The entire system will comprise of a couple of chambers, separating liquid and solid wastes. A vacuum suction technology that can be found in aircraft lavatories is employed here, where liquid waste will be sent over to a processing facility where the whole idea is to recover components normally used for fertilisers including nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.

As for the weightier solid waste, those will be ferried over to a bioreactor where it will be digested in order for some bio-gas to be released. This bio-gas contains methane which can then function as a replacement for natural gas that is normally utilized in stoves, or to have it converted to electricity. Currently, the prototype is being trialled in a couple of toilets, and it is hoped that the real deal will be tested a couple of years from now. I wonder just what kind of amendments need to be done to the current piping system in order for the No-Mix Vacuum Toilet to realize its full potential.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Green, Home
Tags: toilet