In his quest to help save the planet, Bill Gates has literally tasted the next evolution in waste water technology: drinking water recycled from human waste. Gates visited the Omniprocessor, a new machine that can turn sewage into drinking water, and posted a video of his first sip on his blog GatesNotes. Check it out below:
Since leaving the day-to-day operations at Microsoft, Bill Gates has been busy trying to solve the world’s environmental problems. Sanitation and access to clean drinking water are two of the biggest obstacles, so Gates jumped at the opportunity to try out the recycled beverage.
The Omniprocessor is a near-magical contraption built by Janicki Bioenergy, and its ability to transform sewage into potable water could revolutionize waste water treatment on a global scale. A more energy-efficient sanitation industry is just one of the benefits that could stem from this advancement. Perhaps more importantly, the new technology could eventually be used to improve access to clean water in developing countries.
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The Omniprocessor is located in Sedro-Wooley, Washington, 70-some miles north of Microsoft’s headquarters. Its process is fairly efficient and clean: sewage goes in, and what comes out is clean water, electricity, and ash. The huge machine boils down waste water to separate the solids from the water vapor. The solid waste is then burned to produce energy, and the water vapor is collected and cleaned. The result is plain, drinkable water. Bill Gates may have been among the first to taste the results of the process, but its real world applications will be tested in Senegal later this year.
Images via GatesNotes.